Tags
Customer, Customer Management, Customer service, Demanding Customers, Personality clash, pricing
Have you ever found yourself claiming this statement?
If you have, you are not on your own. Customers can be annoying, inflexible, a nuisance, ignorant, arrogant, condescending, patronising, demanding, aggressive.
When you find yourself muttering “Bloody Customers”,ask yourself “Why do I feel this way?” – This is very, very important.
If your relationship and your attitude to your income stream are not amiable, you are jeopardising the health of your business. It can also be a significant source of stress, eating you up from the inside and destroying your health and your ability to enjoy what you do.
Never, never, ever, accept this statement as “OK”.
Try and identify the issue that is central to your feelings.
- Are you trying to handle too much work?
- Are you more a “back room “person?
- Do you have a personality clash with this particular customer?
- Is there a moral dilemma?
- Is your product knowledge not up to speed?
- Is the customer expecting too much for the price you charge?
- Is a product or customer type not really part of your vision?
- Are the demands unrealistic?
- Does your customer have you “over a barrel”?
I do not believe that the customer is always right.
We must look for that classic “win/win” situation. There are many things to try that can enable you to get your enjoyment back into your work. Re-evaluate the customer you are trying to attract. Re-evaluate your work flow. Adjust your pricing, or, provide various pricing options to make sure that each customer is profitable.