Lost a $2,500 retainer client because of a simple email typo

Last Thursday I sent a proposal to a long-time client with my old pricing still in it. They called me out on it within 20 minutes and said it felt like I wasn't paying attention to their account anymore. I tried to explain it was a copy-paste mistake from a template, but they already had a bad taste in their mouth. They canceled their retainer by Monday. Has anyone else had a small slip up like this spiral into losing a big client?

2 comments

2 Comments

taylor_barnes595d ago

I mean, are we sure this isn't a little blown out of proportion? Like yeah, it's a mistake, but a pricing typo on a proposal doesn't exactly scream "I don't care about you." It sounds like they were already looking for a reason to leave.

shah.evan5d ago

Yeah, that stinks and I feel for you (typos are the worst). But here's the thing - that old pricing error is actually a smoke signal. If they bail that fast over a copy-paste mistake, the real problem was probably brewing for a while. Next time, try sending proposals in a fresh doc instead of a template, or at least do a quick proofread out loud before hitting send. Also, maybe check in with your long-term clients more often between big proposals, just a casual "hey anything feel off lately?" can catch this stuff before it blows up.