Awhile back, The Methodology Blog highlighted a story about an accidental airfare discount that resulted in a $320 savings for travelers. And though this scenario was unbelievable, surprisingly we discovered an even larger bungle that gave way to an astounding $1,500 savings.

Recently, an Australian electronics retail store by the name of Dick Smith, discovered that their New Zealand website failed to register main items for sale. Electronics such as the iMac, retailing anywhere from $1,500 - $1,800, were being sold for the price of shipping and handling. Immediately, customers began tweeting about the enormous clearance tags:

@stefan: My order just went through. 27 inch iMac. Total price: $4.95.

The store immediately performed offline maintenance to repair the malfunction. An action that was, no doubt, done so in extreme haste. And though no report has identified just how long the mistake persisted, the fact that at least sixty individuals were able to purchase high-end merchandise like plasma TVs and iPhones, demonstrates just how fast and furious online news can spread now that social media has become a major influence in our day-to-day lives.

Of course, we all may be wondering about two particular things: 1.) how did the problem begin? and 2.) what becomes of the discounted merchandise that already sold? According to a Dick Smith’s spokesperson, the incorrect pricing was due to a technical error—a glitch that is still being investigated. In regards to the goods, unlike our previous blog about China Eastern Airlines who honored the three dollar flights they mistakenly sold, the Dick Smith store may only provide New Zealand site customers with a 10 percent discount:

Its call centre [will] contact the 60-odd customers who ordered free products. They [can] opt for the 10 per cent discount off the current price or cancel their orders.

. . .

Consumer New Zealand chief executive Sue Chetwin said the Fair Trading Act allowed retailers to refuse to honour an advertised price if it was a genuine mistake.

The moral of the story is that failures of fantastic proportions can occur. And while remedies may vary greatly between those dealing with the mistakes, the same conclusion can be made: failure is simply a part of life.  That being said, we needn’t shrug our shoulders in defeat and accept the loss as it is. Instead, we must consciously recognize that, though consequences to failure occur, we can still effectively achieve success in the aftermath. We owe it to ourselves and our business to take the initiative to grow and learn from experiences that challenge our knowledge and our work.

We must change our outlook on failure if we are to accept that it is ever-present in our lives.  To learn more, you can read a sample chapter from our book Failure: The Secret To Success or simply check out www.failurethebook.com.

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Tags: business process, failure, online retailer, pricing mistake, process improvement