Angela Kamanzi My Journey in Entrepreneurship
People who will never be satisfied no matter what you do for them, those who look for opportunities of getting something for nothing or who claim a refund for goods they have made use of have existed since times immemorial. However, even though they constitute a very tiny minority, we tend to amplify their presence in our minds because dealing with a bad customer is draining and annoying; and we find it hard to forget those incidents as compared to the ordinary transactions.
The question of how to deal with bad customers is the one Sunny Bindra is asked the most by leadership teams of top firms. His advice is that the issue of dishonest customers should be treated with caution. “The average customer is a simple soul who just wants a decent product or service at a decent price. The average customer appreciates your efforts to set up shop and deliver value to her. The average customer is actually reluctant to complain, and only does it when he feels genuinely aggrieved. The average customer applauds when you press her ‘wow’ button – give her something extra she really didn’t expect. The average customer is loyal where he feels honoured and appreciated. That is all,” writes Sunny Bindra.
Here are 6 practical approaches to deal with the dishonest ways of some of your clients:
1. Treat bad clients with respect.
Every business encounters customers trying to get something for nothing. Even though you are aware that they are trying to manipulate the situation, don’t be abrasive or try to point out their dishonesty. Try to resolve the issue in a cordial manner and draw lessons from the experience. Some less-than-ideal customers will help you refine your marketing strategies, optimise vetting procedures, and improve your customer service.
2. Have a written agreement and a team of specialists and tools.
These are accountants, lawyers, contracts, etc. Every company-client relationship sets expectations. Have a written agreement that defines clearly the expectations. This makes your business relationships more professional, easier to manage and mitigates instances of working with dishonest clients.
3. Customers don’t always have a negative intent.
Most people are honest and do what’s right. Assume that your customers are all honest and do what you can to help them, even if it means losing a little money to make them happy.
4. Set up shared collaboration tools to keep track of deliverables.
For a service professional, dishonest customers can damage the brand and the quality of the service offered. In case a client is not keeping their end of the bargain, it’s important to keep detailed records of meetings, emails, action items and phone calls. With all the proof and records at hand, a dishonest customer can’t do much against you. If possible, have the client join a shared project management team. That way the client will see what you are doing to push the project forward.
5. Don’t assign blame; rather focus on solving the issue.
A customer always takes a dishonest action with a reason, whether warranted or not. The first response should be to seek to solve that concern. By identifying the issue, set a tone with the customer that you are here to help, not to blame them or exacerbate the situation. Your goal should be to leave every customer satisfied and do whatever you can to make that happen in a manner that is fair to all parties.
6. As for the few genuine serial abusers…
Treat them like you would every good customer the first time. The second time, make a note and should they deceive you a third time, terminate your relationship politely and firmly.
As a leader you should ensure that a mindset that promotes suspicion and mistrust of the average customer doesn’t take root in your business. The existence of dishonest customers should not curb our attempts to create a world-class service culture.
Being client driven is one of the 9 ways guaranteed to grow your business. Click here to read testimonies on The 9 Ways workshop by Jayan Patel.
