Beyond the Pedway

Always a hot topic! I think the important thing is to define who is the right customer and what is abusive? If you fail to meet a deadline or agreement, the customer has the right to get upset, but not abusive. If the customer is just a bully, it's time to cut the ties. Definitions are important, though, because some folks think any sort of confrontation is wrong – that's not the case. Thanks for discussing this – it's a good one!

Absolutely fire abusive customers! It's your job to do anything you can to treat customers right as the business owner BUT when they start costing you money and abusing your employees it's time to show them the door. The slogan “the customer is always right” is not true anymore in today's society. Treat customers right but don't break your back for them. If you want to discuss this issue we would love for you to call in to our show so we can chat about it! This topic is exactly why we created BusinessBeware.Biz so you can pre-qualify these customers before you work with them…. Great article!

I say fire the customer.

In my view life is too short to take on just “any” customers. I am now very selective about who I work with. They work with me by invitation only. And they have to meet my criteria before I invite them. So yes, I would definitely refer abusive customers elsewhere, and customers that cost you money to service. You're left with the good ones. You no longer have to service the bad ones. You do better and sleep better. And you can provide a better, more focused service to the ones you most like serving. Everyone wins. I'm assuming here that you're providing a decent product or service in the first place, and that the customers are being abusive for no good reason.

I love your distinctions here, Jeannie. Defining the right type of customer is the most important part, I think. And as you said, if you're not performing to the degree you're supposed to be, the customer can get upset, but being abusive should never be acceptable.

You're absolutely right, definitions are so important! What do you think the best way to cut ties is when you encounter an abusive customer?

Thanks for commenting!

I think you're right about “the customer is always right” not being so true anymore these days. With the customer having such an amplified voice now, they make try to take advantage of that and bully the business into getting what they want.

Would love to chat on your show sometime! I poked around your site a bit and I think that's a cool idea.

Thanks for commenting!

Short and sweet. I like your style. Would there ever be a time when you'd have a reason to keep the customer around?

Thanks for dropping by!

I love this view, Robert, and I agree with it wholeheartedly. When you're providing a great product/service, you should be able to concentrate on continuing to provide that great product/service and servicing your awesome community, rather than dealing with customers who would rather give you as much trouble as possible, without reason.

You said it best: “You do better and sleep better. And you can provide a better, more focused service to the ones you most like serving. Everyone wins.”

Thanks for the comment, Robert!

Fire them! No one deserves to get treated poorly. My first course of action would be to train any front-line staff members in conflict management/resolution and empower them to take appropriate measures when they feel someone has crossed the line. If the customer continually is a problem, I would suggest they take their business elsewhere, because we would no longer deal with their abuse.

Exactly…all you see now is how much people complain about “bad customer service” but not about the other side where the business owner has to deal with “bad customers.”

Right on! Send me an email: ashley[at]businessbeware.biz

Thank you for your thoughts. Glad we both feel the same way. This describes what I do and also my criteria: http://marketingwizdom.com/programs

Training front-line staff in conflict management/resolution is a great idea. I think an important part to this whole discussion is determining (for your business) exactly how much is too much when it comes to a problem customer or abusive customer.

Thanks for the thoughts, Kristen!

The customer is not always right, but they always have the right to be heard. Great thread here.

Perfect way of saying it! Thanks for commenting, Jill!

Perfect way of saying it! Thanks for commenting, Jill!

Perfect way of saying it! Thanks for commenting, Jill!