Sorry on Australia Day-sky writing (Photo credit: butupa)

We all screw up. We don’t like it, but it happens. Sometimes though, we can learn from the mistake. Here are some lessons on the right (and wrong) way to do it.

First, the screw-up that got worse and worse.
Bad Taste Tweet About Aurora – A fashion company saw a hashtag trending on twitter (and didn’t bother to check why). They eventually apologized, but not very well (the explanation was outsourcing).

Here’s a better example:
Sorry I made a mistake – John Jantsch messed up his memorial day sale…but had the sense (and the guts) to recognize it, and apologize.

Then, there’s recovery from someone else’s error (and being kind, rather than nasty in a legal situation):
Jack Daniels cease and desist – This is probably the nicest cease and desist letter ever written. While there may be a fair use case, this is better. Smart too, because it’s undoubtedly cheaper, and gets them lots of goodwill (like this link, and the articles about the letter).

Turn a Nightmare into Great PR – Here’s how Ford did it right (recalling brand-new cars with a problem), and Chick-fil-a completely fell on their faces.