We all have (or have had in the past) a bad customer. Do any of the following attributes ring any bells?
- Only pay after the third reminder
- Consume all our time
- Expect something for nothing – constantly
- Continually change their minds
- Fail to plan and then expect us to work miracles to sort things out
- Cause problems and then expect us to fix things for free
Options
- Sack Them - If you have a customer who is costing you a disproportionate amount of time and/ or money – get rid of them. You can then spend more of your time on customers who appreciate your services and who then go on to provide you with testimonials and referrals.
- Increase Their Price - You might not be in a position to sack your recalcitrant customer – depending on their ability to damage your reputation or the degree to which their income is critical to you today. However, it may be feasible to increase their price.
- Change Terms - Change them from all inclusive to price per hour or start invoicing extras.
Things to Think About
- Reputation - If your bad customer is going to tell 25 of your prospects about shoddy service, you may have a problem. If you sit down with them and speak honestly it is more likely that they will move on gracefully. If you are sacking 20 customers, you might want to take professional advice on the PR elements of the project and announce your “change of strategy” before your sacked customers damage your reputation. Some customers damage your reputation – just by being your customer.
- Profitability – Customers who are killing your business can do what they like to your reputation. As long as you keep your existing profitable customers – and publish new testimonials as a follow up to your changes – any reputation damage will be minimal – and the positive impact on your profit could be profound.
Before You Quote
In your Opportunity Review process, it pays to ensure that you really understand what you are taking on. If you predict that a customer will turn out to be painful to deal with, consider one of the following options:
- Price accordingly
- No-bid
- Refer them to a competitor
