How To… handle clients from hell

One of the unavoidable problems of running an event is having to deal with the occasional disgruntled customer.

But what happens when you encounter the client from hell who complains endlessly about everything your company does and has made it his mission to make your life a misery? The answer may be just to say goodbye.

Before deciding how to deal with awkward customers, the first step is to try to understand why they were being difficult.

If it was because they have a genuine complaint, dealing with it could be an opportunity to strengthen the relationship.

If, however, a customer was simply being awkward, you have to decide whether he or she was really the type of client you wanted.

If they are the sort of person who complains no matter what you do, ask yourself whether they are someone you really want. That type of customer is using up valuable resources that could be better applied elsewhere — and is the sort that perhaps you are never going to satisfy.

One way of deciding how to deal with awkward customers was to work out what kind they were. Categorise customers and make a list of your As, Bs, Cs and Ds. Your A customers are your best customers. They never query your bills, they trust you and you have a great working relationship with them.

Your D customers, on the other hand, are your really difficult customers who always complain, take up your time with trivia, complain about the bills and never pay on time. You need to cull these because they are using up valuable resources.

But how do you go about telling awkward customers that you no longer wish to do business with them?

There are two options. You could simply say to the customer that you were sorry but you didn’t want to work with him any more. Or you could tell him you were going to have to double your fees to provide the kind of service he required. If the customer is prepared to pay double and the profit margin is good, you can perhaps tolerate him. An alternative is to insist that he set up a standing order to ensure that you were paid regularly.

The customer is always right — but there are some who aren’t. Are there grounds for firing some of your customers? The answer is yes. You can’t be all things to all people.

But it is important to distinguish between those who had a genuine complaint and others who are not worth trying to please.

It all comes down to being clear about what you are selling and whom you are trying to sell to. If you receive a complaint from a target customer who you want to buy your product or service, you should be changing your product or service to meet his needs

But for those whose needs you can’t and don’t want to meet, you have to say sorry — we can’t do that.

Another priority is not to become defensive when a customer makes a complaint. A complaint is a gift. It is a free piece of market research, and is telling you what is wrong with your organisation. For every person who complains you can guarantee there will be 10 or 20 people who haven’t complained but have felt disappointed.

Research shows that if you can deal with the complaint immediately at the point of the complaint, the amount the customer settles for will be far less than if you were to say, ‘well, we will look into it’. Because when a company says that, they are really saying you are a liar. Customers don’t like that.

Excellent reputations are built on being able to meet customers’ every expectation. If you are in a service industry, service is king.

The key to dealing with complaining customers is that when talking to them you should always use three words: glad, sure and sorry. For example: “I am sorry you have a complaint. I am sure we can solve it but I am glad you have raised it because it allows us to put it right for you.”

However, when trying to solve the problem it is vital not to promise the impossible. If you do, it would only make the customer even angrier.

Even with the most annoying customer, the secret was simply to look at it from their point of view.

Treating customers as individuals is so important, and you need to ensure you don’t try to give them some kind of ‘one size fits all’ approach. Often the problem is made worse because employees try to impose their own opinions.


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