If they mess up, you have to make it right

In preparation for my pending retirement, I've been, slowly, saying goodbye to clients and referring prospects to others.  Recently, a publicist learned of this and asked me to refer clients to her.  About a month ago, I did just that.  A couple of  days ago, I spoke to her on another matter and asked her how the referral was going. She gave me one of those UH OH  responses, which meant she didn't follow through.  I was very disappointed and called the client, went by there and is now taking the client on to maintain my credibility.  I didn't want to do it and the fee is much less than what I'd charge but, you gotta do what you gotta do to make amends for someone who you referred and who proved to be unreliable.  But, a Facebook friend gave me the perfect script for future screw ups like this:  "I know this person to be reliable and professional. if that's not the case let me know right away because my relationship with you means a lot.