Uh Oh - I Screwed Up!

From Ego to No-Go

On Nov. 7th, I wrote a blog, waxing poetic about some Sponsor-A-Camper tent cards that I'd created for our upcoming gala.  I was SO happy with them.  Some of my peers and mentors had given me very positive feedback on them.  I thought they looked great and I was feeling very excited about seeing them finished and having the opportunity to measure their success.

On Thursday morning, I received a phone call from the charity's Executive Assistant saying:  "Your tent cards have arrived and they look fantastic!  Do you want the bad news now or do you want to wait until you get here?"

My heart dropped... Oh No!!!!  I wanted to know immediately.  I had missed an error in the email address when I proofed the copy.  I don't know if I made the initial error or if it was an error made as it was retyped by the designers.  Didn't matter.  What mattered is that people who left the gala and wanted to email us to join our monthly Sponsor-A-Camper program would get a bounced email.

Tragedy into Triumph!

The email prefix was missing an "e" in the name and the suffix was .com NOT .ca.   How do I fix it?  We can call the printer and see if they'll reprint for free - or at least for just the paper cost and I would pay for it personally (It was afterall my mistake).  We could make really tiny labels and place them over the 1800+ response cards that were defective.   Of course, nobody has the time to place tinsie-tiny labels over an email address.  What to do????

Well - rather than just jump ahead, I visited several staff and said, "I screwed up" and explained the problem and asked for suggestions.  One person had made a similar error on our URL (indicating .com rather than .ca) and at that time, we learned that we had actually registered http://www.ReachForTheRainbow.com several years ago. 

AHA!  - So we could just make a new email address and create and automatic forward to my email!  Yay... oh happy, happy days! (AKA: My ass is no longer grass)

Better than Good!

After we made and tested the new email address (it took all of 2 mins.), I thought - well geez - we should make new email addresses for all our initiatives.  That way we can easily track all the what, when, why's of anyone signing up for something via email.  Oh what a simple way to track and measure responses. 

So my lessons this week:

1. Don't beat yourself up over mistakes... even big ones.  Take a deep breath, think, consult with everyone possible and invite advice. Proof read more carefully! 
2. Always double check anything that includes contact information for your organization.  That as much as anything is key!
3. Count your blessings when by some miracle, karma or other positive force in the universe - your mistake turns out to be something helpful and useful.

And a new week begins...

Comments

[John Lepp]

Phew! I can stop hyperventilating now. I'm glad this worked out well Laurie - as I started to read this, I opened the art for the newsletter and was relieved to see that we had the correct urls in place... But you are right, these things happen - trust me - I've been a part and seen my fair share of "UH OH's". There is no worse feeling.

[Kimberley MacKenzie]

Dear Laurie,

I missed this one, just catching up on my reading. WELL DONE! Not because you don't know your website addy. BECAUSE you shared a mistake. They happen, we move in a fast hectic world. I am starting to wonder if fundraisers are basically liars. How can everyone of them be perfect, except for me...oh and now you too. Welcome to the imperfect world of fundraising! It is nice to have you.

Kimberley