Wow, this just happened!

CarrieB.

One of my clients just blamed an issue on the fact that I was out on maternity leave and something must have "fallen through the cracks" while I was out.

Of course this is not true and I keep all my emails so I can prove it. And I work in a supportive family friendly job where everyone is backing me up on this.

But seriously, what makes people think they can just pull the "you were out on leave" card? I spent months prepping and writing detailed notes so nothing would fall through the cracks and it didn't. This really pisses me off.

Avion22

Well, if you weren't there, then you couldn't have been responsible for what did (or did not) happen in your absence, could you?   :-)

FemShep

I think it really depends on the issue. And frankly, at this point, insisting to the client that it wasn't your fault isn't going to make things better, it's just going to damage the relationship.

Think about what you want out of the situation, which is a happy client and a great professional reputation. Tell the client that you're sorry they aren't happy with how things were handled during your leave, and you want to make things better. (This way, you're not admitting a mistake, but you're acknowledging they're unhappy). Talk about what needs to change/be fixed, put together a detailed plan to do so, over-communicate, and chalk it up to human nature. Good luck!