Oh Man, I get so tired of the excuses. It seems like people, especially salespeople, look for every excuse under the sun to explain why they cannot do their job. I’ve been around this industry long enough to hear just about every excuse in the book. Tariffs. Supply chain snarls. Material shortages. Labor walkouts. Late trucks. The list never ends. And do you know what all of these have in common? Not a single one has ever put a dime in the bank. Excuses don’t pay invoices. Period.

The customer doesn’t care that your supplier shipped you FR-4 instead of polyimide. They don’t care that your operator called in sick, that the plating line broke down, or that the raw copper cost more this month. They don’t even care that your state-of-the-art ERP system was “down for maintenance.” Customers only care about one thing: did you deliver what you promised, on time, at the quality they expect?

Look around. Every company in our space is fighting the same battles. Everyone’s dealing with tariffs. Everyone’s facing labor shortages. Everyone’s trying to find that missing component that went on allocation three months ago. The difference between winners and losers is never in the excuse—it’s in the response.

Some companies sit around the conference table crafting elaborate explanations for why they failed. Others roll up their sleeves, get on the phone, and find another supplier, another machine, another way to get it done. That’s the difference.

Here’s the harsh truth: your customer has their own problems. They’re juggling their own deadlines, their own shortages, their own internal politics. They didn’t order your excuses; they ordered your boards. If you start every call with, “Well, we would have shipped on time, but…” you’re not a partner—you’re a liability.

Think about the impression you leave. Every excuse you make tells your customer: “We are not in control. We can’t be counted on.” That’s not just one late order—that’s long-term trust being eroded. Once your credibility is gone, your price, your certifications, your quality scores—none of it matters.

Worse than losing a customer’s trust is what excuses do to your own team. If you normalize excuse-making inside your company, you’re teaching everyone it’s acceptable to fail. You’re creating a culture where missing commitments is just another day at the office.

An operator who hears management say, “Well, we can’t help it, the laminates are late” learns that blame-shifting is the norm. A salesperson who hears, “The customer just doesn’t understand how hard this is” learns that dodging accountability is acceptable. Excuses spread like a virus. Before long, mediocrity is the culture.

The companies that rise above don’t waste time rehearsing explanations. They train themselves to say, “Here’s the problem, here’s what we’re doing about it, and here’s when you’ll have your boards.” That’s accountability.

And you know what? Customers respect accountability even more than flawless performance. Every company stumbles. Every factory has breakdowns. But when you own it, when you act decisively, when you take responsibility instead of sympathy—you earn trust. That trust is the real currency of business.

Let’s not kid ourselves: it’s easier to say, “The truck broke down” than it is to drive through the night and deliver it yourself. It’s easier to say, “That material’s backordered” than to call twenty other suppliers and negotiate an alternative. It’s easier to say, “We’re short-staffed” than to get your leadership team out on the floor to run the machines themselves.

But here’s the rub: only one of those options gets the job done. Only one keeps the customer. Only one keeps the cash flowing. Excuses are the cheap way out. Solutions are the hard road—but the only road that leads to survival.

I’ll share a quick story. Years ago, I visited a shop that was constantly missing deliveries. Every time I asked why, they had an answer: the inspectors were behind, the drill bits were wrong, the plating baths were off. Every single department had a reason. But what they didn’t have was cash. The company shut down within a year. They excused themselves right into bankruptcy.

Contrast that with another shop I know. Their laminator broke down the day before a critical job was due. Instead of calling the customer with excuses, the owner rented a truck, drove three hours to a competitor, and begged them to laminate the job overnight. He delivered that order on time. That customer still buys from him twenty years later. That’s the difference.

At the end of the day, every excuse you make is a hole in your cash flow. Customers don’t extend credit for sympathy. They don’t pay invoices because you tried really hard. They pay because you delivered. No delivery, no payment. No excuses, no delays—just the cold math of business.

So here’s the common-sense truth: excuses don’t pay invoices. Never have. Never will.

If you want to survive, stop rehearsing why you can’t. Start obsessing over how you will. That’s the only narrative customers buy. That’s the only story that builds trust. And that’s the only way to make sure the invoices get paid.

Excuses are the language of failure. Accountability is the language of survival. Choose wisely. It’s only common sense.