Are There Good Customers and Bad Customers?
In the August edition of Entrepreneur we are reminded of the Wendy’s customer who claimed she found a finger in her chili.
After an investigation insued, the truth came out – she had planted the offending digit, but as Entrepreneur reminds us – the damage had been done. Sales fell. Franchise owners suffered.
To-go coffee cups have been forever altered – either with hot warnings or with the additional of insulted hot pads encircling the cup after the woman was burned by her McDonald’s coffee and sued the behemouth franchisor.
And who can forget the Tylenol scare of 1982?
Through no fault of their own, these large household name companies suffered greatly in the media due to “customers” who weren’t playing fair.
Call me Pollyanna but I like to believe that customers are coming with a need and a desire to find a solution which hopefully we can provide. Each day we quietly and successfully help countless customers and that doesn’t make the news. But it is that one irate customer that can ruin our day and in worse case scenarios – ruin our reputation.
John Jantsch wrote a post recently asking if the Customer is Always Right. His short answer is “no” and suggests we reword that phrase to be “the RIGHT customer is always right.”
But what do we do when the wrong or bad customer has an impact on our business?
Web Word Slinger offers a great list of actions to take if someone writes bad things about your company on the Internet in the post There’s No Such Thing as Bad Press.
Not long ago I wrote about how one business owner used Twitter to combat bad press in his community.
Botttomline – when bad customers happen to good companies – you have to face the story head on – reach out to make it right if possible, share your side, offer examples of customers who have been satisfied – collect and publish testimonials and happy stories. Don’t be afraid to ask a customer, that gushes about how you changed their life, to put it in writing!
What ideas have you found word?
It sounds cut throat at first glance, but refer your bad customers to your competition.
Maybe it is cut throat. If so, the burden will be on your competition, not you, to service the impossible to serve. But, perhaps it is just a miss-match. Just as one organization’s ‘problem employee’ could be another’s star, your bad customer may work out just fine for your competition.
If so, it leaves your (ex) customer more satisfied, and it leaves your competitor scratching its head and asking itself if you are crazy for sending them this jewel of a customer.
Your people are your primary asset – more important than even your customers – and the one time the customer is NEVER right is when they are abusive to your people without provocation. In that case, the bum customer should be pitched out on their derriere. Immediately.
I agree with you that customers usually come with an agreeable set of motives and a reasonable agenda (just as employees generally do not come to work with the intent of mucking up your business). But circumstances may drive customers or your people to perceive that acting out is their only behavioral option to ‘redress’ whatever irks them. That’s when giving them a map and directions to their avenue of escape – as a customer or employee of your competitor – is one of the highest levels of service you can provide.
Jim,
Oh I LOVE that idea! I can remember a customer we had at Pearle Vision who couldn’t be satified no matter what we did. We finally refunded her money – apologized and said – we just don’t seem to have what she needs and perhaps Eye World (another competitor) could be of more service. At that point it cost less to refund the money than to remake glasses over and over and over and still not make her happy.
I think we’ve all had the customer we needed to “fire” and you are right – if they are abusive to employees – they are outta there! There is a fine line.
Thanks for the comment!
I agree, knowing when to turn your customers lose is critical to damage control, staff morale and your bottom line. 3 years ago i had a customer whom was demanding and abusive to my staff, belittling them with verbal abuse. I ‘case managed’ him’. It got to the point where he was consuming so much time and causing so much stress I just said “Look I’m not prepared to offer you our services from here on until you are prepared top work ‘with us’ and treat us with respect”.
I wrote him a letter to that effect and told him where else he could go. Never heard from him again…