Hopefully, you weren’t caught up in the Delta Airlines snafu this week. A computer shutdown caused cancellation of thousands of flights and delays for many others.

It was a business nightmare of the highest order. But, through all the coverage of the incident, you heard the same thread: the Delta people worked the problem professionally, maintained composure and made their way through.

Here’s a letter the Delta CEO sent out:

“This week we failed to deliver on the reliability you have come to expect from Delta Air Lines, and you experienced it first-hand. We’re sorry we let you down and for the inconvenience we caused you.

As a valued Medallion® member, you expect more, which is why we’ve added 20,000 bonus miles to your SkyMiles account. This is our thanks for your patience and an example of our continued promise to be the travel partner you rely on.

Please know that your loyalty is important to us, and we’re doing everything possible to make certain this does not happen again. “

There’s a lesson here. On the rare cases where we fail a customer, let’s follow this example.

Acknowledge we have fallen short and didn’t meet the expectation. No excuses.

Offer a sincere apology.

Take action to fix or to mitigate the loss.

Begin work to understand the mistake and assure it doesn’t happen again.

I am sure Delta lost some ground this week. But, they will recover.  I admire their authentic response to the adversity.