Hit the Road, Jack! Giving Difficult Customers THE BOOT!
| Category: Customer Service | Date: 2001-07-17 |
Have you ever heard the adage, "the customer is always right?" Yes? Well, it doesnt apply to home business owners and entrepreneurs. No, I havent lost my marbles. Its true. This CAN NOT apply for home-based businesses, and youd better believe Im going to tell you why.
NOTE: Before you go and get "boot happy," realize that this article is NOT to be followed as standard customer service procedure. It should be used with care, VERY rarely, and hardly at all. Knowing how to deal with difficult customers is imperative for quality customer service.
A small business owner simply can not afford to treat all of his or her prospective customers with the same level of service. Why? Its simple. Home business owners need to be selective, to a degree, in order to keep business running smoothly, and to satisfy the prospects that DESERVE satisfaction.
You have to become the type of business owner that would rather kick a few of the "bums" to the curb and give other customers excellent service, than to try to please everybody all of the time ... which just isnt going to happen. By adopting a rule of "the customer is always right," home business owners are setting themselves up for financial suicide ... and heres why
A home business is usually very small, and is ordinarily run by only ONE very dedicated person. And, no matter how much theyd like to think so, this one person cant be all things to ALL people. For this simple reason, entrepreneurs run a very high risk of spreading themselves too thin and, when this happens, business is sure to suffer.
"So, how do I avoid this," you ask? Its simple, really.
1. Target your advertising to attract the RIGHT kinds of customers. The "good" kind. ;-)
Avoid using hype and never, ever, under ANY circumstances, advertise your business or service to be better than it actually is. If you advertise to people that are looking for hyped-up offers and unrealistic excitement, youre ASKING for trouble.
2. Work only with customers that are willing to work with YOU.
Sure, the customer is usually right in most cases, but no one is right ALL of the time. And, reasonable people are the ones that realize this. Theyre also the ones you want to work with. Have you ever had a customer that, no matter what you said, or what you proposed, they were STILL dissatisfied? Even if you agreed to do EXACTLY what they requested of you, AND MORE?? This is the kind of disgruntled, trouble-maker thats just looking for trouble, and you happened to be the gullible target.
3. Dont stand to be treated rudely or disrespectfully.
If youre a successful and professional business owner, that means that youre always willing to make amends to please your customer, and to correct any situation in which you were at fault. And, since youre the type of business owner that respects their customers, you should also receive the very same respect. If you dont and youve tried all you could to make them happy, kick that customer to the curb! Theyll literally be more trouble than theyre worth later on down the line.
4. Focus 99.5% of your energy and attention on your "good" customers, and youll always be successful.
Dont fall for the old "they just want to be heard" garbage. If someone wants attention, they should act like adults and speak up! Being obnoxious to get attention is for three year olds.
If you remember and follow those four simple guidelines in your day-to-day business routine, youre sure to be one step ahead of the game. A difficult, troublesome customer can take TWENTY TIMES as much work and effort to attend to than a customer thats willing to be reasonable.
And, if youre like me, you get a hundred or more emails a day. Whats twenty times one hundred?? Lets just say a LOT more time than I have to spend babying rude and unprofessional customers. What about you?
For anyone that challenges this way of thinking, remember that you dont have to answer to them. Let THEM have the headache of dealing with irate customers, and save yourself the trouble.
NOTE: Read What Ever Happened to Customer Service? to find out how to convert your worst customers into your best referral sources, at http://ExpertOnEbiz.com/articles/service.html. Knowing when to draw the line is imperative. Good luck!
About the Author
Harmony Major is the author of Yahoo! Secrets, where she reveals how YOU can drive HUNDREDS more visitors to your site each day, by getting a #1 listing on Yahoo. Dont just settle for "getting listed." Use her instantly-effective tactics to boost your site traffic with a TOP Yahoo listing!
:To contact see details below.
Harmony@ExpertOnEbiz.com
http://YahooSecrets.com
NOTE: Before you go and get "boot happy," realize that this article is NOT to be followed as standard customer service procedure. It should be used with care, VERY rarely, and hardly at all. Knowing how to deal with difficult customers is imperative for quality customer service.
A small business owner simply can not afford to treat all of his or her prospective customers with the same level of service. Why? Its simple. Home business owners need to be selective, to a degree, in order to keep business running smoothly, and to satisfy the prospects that DESERVE satisfaction.
You have to become the type of business owner that would rather kick a few of the "bums" to the curb and give other customers excellent service, than to try to please everybody all of the time ... which just isnt going to happen. By adopting a rule of "the customer is always right," home business owners are setting themselves up for financial suicide ... and heres why
A home business is usually very small, and is ordinarily run by only ONE very dedicated person. And, no matter how much theyd like to think so, this one person cant be all things to ALL people. For this simple reason, entrepreneurs run a very high risk of spreading themselves too thin and, when this happens, business is sure to suffer.
"So, how do I avoid this," you ask? Its simple, really.
1. Target your advertising to attract the RIGHT kinds of customers. The "good" kind. ;-)
Avoid using hype and never, ever, under ANY circumstances, advertise your business or service to be better than it actually is. If you advertise to people that are looking for hyped-up offers and unrealistic excitement, youre ASKING for trouble.
2. Work only with customers that are willing to work with YOU.
Sure, the customer is usually right in most cases, but no one is right ALL of the time. And, reasonable people are the ones that realize this. Theyre also the ones you want to work with. Have you ever had a customer that, no matter what you said, or what you proposed, they were STILL dissatisfied? Even if you agreed to do EXACTLY what they requested of you, AND MORE?? This is the kind of disgruntled, trouble-maker thats just looking for trouble, and you happened to be the gullible target.
3. Dont stand to be treated rudely or disrespectfully.
If youre a successful and professional business owner, that means that youre always willing to make amends to please your customer, and to correct any situation in which you were at fault. And, since youre the type of business owner that respects their customers, you should also receive the very same respect. If you dont and youve tried all you could to make them happy, kick that customer to the curb! Theyll literally be more trouble than theyre worth later on down the line.
4. Focus 99.5% of your energy and attention on your "good" customers, and youll always be successful.
Dont fall for the old "they just want to be heard" garbage. If someone wants attention, they should act like adults and speak up! Being obnoxious to get attention is for three year olds.
If you remember and follow those four simple guidelines in your day-to-day business routine, youre sure to be one step ahead of the game. A difficult, troublesome customer can take TWENTY TIMES as much work and effort to attend to than a customer thats willing to be reasonable.
And, if youre like me, you get a hundred or more emails a day. Whats twenty times one hundred?? Lets just say a LOT more time than I have to spend babying rude and unprofessional customers. What about you?
For anyone that challenges this way of thinking, remember that you dont have to answer to them. Let THEM have the headache of dealing with irate customers, and save yourself the trouble.
NOTE: Read What Ever Happened to Customer Service? to find out how to convert your worst customers into your best referral sources, at http://ExpertOnEbiz.com/articles/service.html. Knowing when to draw the line is imperative. Good luck!
About the Author
Harmony Major is the author of Yahoo! Secrets, where she reveals how YOU can drive HUNDREDS more visitors to your site each day, by getting a #1 listing on Yahoo. Dont just settle for "getting listed." Use her instantly-effective tactics to boost your site traffic with a TOP Yahoo listing!
:To contact see details below.
Harmony@ExpertOnEbiz.com
http://YahooSecrets.com
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