Identifying Difficult Customers

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Identifying Potentially Difficult Customers

 

Every business has had the experience in the form of the problem customer.  Have you ever been in a position where you wish that you hadn't accepted a job from a person?  This is the customer from Hell.  No matter what you do or say you are unable to satisfy this customer.  Don't you wish that someone had told you before you accepted the job that this person is going to be extremely high maintenance.

 

The challenge is to recognise the difficult client whilst they are still a prospect, politely decline their business or recommend they deal with your competition.

 

The first job is to decide the characteristics of a "difficult" or "problem" customer.  To decide which factors are most relevant to you, consider these common characteristics of difficult clients.

 

  • They do not respect your time.
  • They treat you like an employee.
  • They tell you how to do your job.
  • They keep reminding you that your charges are too high.
  • They are frequently disappointed with your work.
  • They always check up on you.
  • They constantly change their minds about the job.
  • They nit-pick at every detail
  • They constantly ask for extras not included in the original job.
  • They believe that they are the only client you've got.
  • They tell you that they can get the job cheaper somewhere else.
  • They are takers.
  • They are unreasonable
  • They are demanding, they never ask, they state.

 

Sometimes when you need extra work it's easy to ignore the warning signs of a potential problem client.  Go with your gut instinct and watch out for the seven common warning signs. You will be better off not doing the work.

1.     They insist on knowing the complete breakdown of your charges even for small jobs.

2.     They express horror at your estimates or quotes.

3.     Their emphasis is always on their costs not on their benefits from the job.

4.     They are always in a rush as they look for the cheapest job.

5.     They are friends or relatives.

6.     They look puzzled when you talk about value.

7.     Their job is always urgent

 

As you deal with customers, make a list of the characteristics that you notice at first and if they turn out to be a problem customers, and add these characteristics to your list of warning signs.

 

These problem customers will have a negative effect on you, your staff, and your business. It is extremely difficult to protect your margins when you have to deal with these sorts of customers.

 

There is a sound argument for making these people pay extra for the trouble they cause. If you raise your price to them, you may lose the job to someone cheaper but you will also lose the difficult customer. Alternatively, you may end up doing the work but the difficult customer has paid a premium which is some compensation for the trouble they will inevitably cause.

 

If you are going to charge them a premium price, try and shield your staff from the effect of this person. Get them to deal with you alone. Halfway through the job you may decide that it's not worth while and that you will never take on another difficult customer.