I think most will confirm that the majority of their customers are nice, reasonable people to deal with where there aren’t any major issues to tangle with. However, we all have that one customer who is just determined to make your life as difficult as possible, no matter what you do. We have had one recently who was particularly nasty. So, here are some of my little methods to make sure you and your company stay on the right side of things.
Be Nice
Yes, be nice. A lot of the time, just like school yard bullies, people start to get nasty and aggressive because they want a reaction out of you. I have dealt with just a few customers like this. But I have found that being mild tempered, approachable, friendly and helpful, when really they want you to snap, disarms them and just winds them up further…which is satisfying!
By being nice and helpful, in no way then can the customer go to an independent body and claim that you, the company, were aggressive and unhelpful. Again, putting you in favour of a good outcome.
Always Help
Contractually and legally, if there is any issue with an installation within the guarantee period, you as the company are allowed to try and rectify the problem first before any further action is taken. No matter how unhelpful, angry or unreasonable the customer may be, always do your best to attend to the work and solve whatever issue may be occurring. That way, the customer cannot accuse you of not trying to sort the problem out and again, your company remains on the side of right and will stop the customer trying to look for loopholes to catch you out on.
Professionalism
Always be professional. No matter how aggressive or angry the customer might be. Remember that some will be looking for a reaction out of you.
If the relationship with the customer breaks down completely, I have found that dealing with customer vie letter is a good way to defuse arguments and keep things on the right track. A well documented letter providing full information and a detailed way to resolve any issue at hand will make sure that your company is protected.
Deny Any Future Work
After an ordeal with a nightmare customer, the chances of repeat work are highly unlikely. However, there is always a chance that the same customer could come back to request more work being done. Be smart, not just for yourself but for the company. Even though times are tough, there is always one or two customer you just don’t want to deal with. Refuse any further work. It’s not worth the hassle and will probably cost you more to do the work than there is profit in the job.
Stick To The Guarantee
Despite a refusal to do any extra work for the client, you still have to honour the guarantee. So make sure you do. Again it is all about making sure the customer has nothing to pull you up on, so by fulfilling all your contractual agreements you protect yourself and the business.
It is important to say that there are very few customers out there that require such effort from a company both to defend itself and protect itself. However, we probably all have the one client per year who no matter what you do, no matter how far backwards you bend, you just will not be able to make them happy.
These are just my thoughts, if you agree or disagree, or think I have missed something out, please leave a comment below!
I think you’re right. I do find that the only way not to have a problem customer is to dot every i and cross every t and consolidate the order in such a way that there is no possibility of a come back during installation. We recently did a job however where the customer swore blind they had ordered a black composite door and not a red one. Only when seeing the order form that said red, the quote that said red and the custom images I made them showing a red door did they agree. Customers will always invent… Read more »
An excellent approach all round and one we use here as well. Things do go wrong (not always our fault either) and how you put them right is the key. We had one instance where a customer complained about some scratched finishings in a house they were doing up. They weren’t there to do the walk around with us on completion of the installation so designated this to their father who signed as satisfied and then the fun and games began. Apparently, their builder commented that the windows weren’t fitted incorrectly (nonsense)…anyway to cut a long story short for the… Read more »
We’ve just finished an orangie with the most difficult customer I have ever come across in 25 yes of trading . From day 1 everything we done was criticised by her and after 5 weeks we’ve still not had a thank you . Job was white woodgrain which made it worse for manufacturing time leads but she wasn’t having any of it. in the end it I had to pay a painter £500 just to get my final installment and then she has kept £750 back till he’s finished . While this project has been going on we’ve completed several… Read more »
The approach you describe can in some cases change a difficult customer into an ally. People often expect the worst from companies and start on that footing.