Bad Customers – You were warned never to talk to strangers!
As a business owner, it seems only right to focus on “That Customer” or “That Job”. These are the ones that help our business on its path to growth, prosperity or bring a certain enjoyment to what you do. “That Customer” can often be drowned out by the one that makes us want to rush out to the trophy store and have a top-heavy crystal effect dust collector with a loosely fitted plaque that says ‘Worst Customer Ever’, or at least, ‘to date’.
The Business Idea!
How ever it comes to us, whether its whilst sitting in the dentist chair or in the middle of the night (I always have something to take notes on by the bed just in case) or simply by seeing how poorly someone else is doing something, when the idea comes to you, everything becomes less important.
We imagine the product or service, the office, our uniform and the logo and the options that being successful brings.
As you set up your dedicated workspace, decide on a name, start to research logo design companies and look towards the future. You can’t imagine what a poor customer looks like or the pressure, stress and damage they can cause.
It is my experience that the wave of positivity that comes with “That Job” or “That Customer” only comes when you have been dragged under and smashed against the rocks a few times, and when it does, it comes in very small doses. When it comes though, even those pipet sized splashes are enough to make you feel incredible, all the sacrifice and effort worth it and your heart is lifted.
How often have you been here? I bet you can feel the elation, even now, like that birthday cake that tasted so amazing that you had to sneak just another three overly sized pieces, fingers stained for the next couple of days from the icing and a dress that needs washing stat.
By nature then, we all aim for that customer, that job, that warm pat on the back that comes from a job well done and the thrill of the five star review.
We kind of understand, in the beginning that once in a while, we will come up against the less than perfect customer and that we can deal with them and move forward to the next, great customer. At this time however, what we don’t realise is the effect of what, I like to call ‘The Drag’ caused by, for lack of a better phrase, a bad customer.
A bad customer always costs you and in turn your business, loss of time and as a result a loss of money, if not in earnings, certainly in wages, and if not right this minute, definitely, accumulatively, down the line.
The drag affect may cause you to waste an hour, a day or a week. It makes the business take steps backwards and falter on the march forwards. This drag affect causes ripples through everything around it. Whether it’s the motivation of the people who work with you, the way that you interact with other customers or the quality of the sleep that you get.
The first one to ten times we run across the less than perfect customer, it’s almost easy to brush it off as a learning experience, but the twentieth or thirtieth or sixtieth? The drag accumulates. You start to calculate each instance. You become more and more wary and what you do becomes less and less pleasurable.
You’ve heard of the phrase “Its not personal, its only business’? Well sod that, its always personal….
Let me tell you about some. Believe me when I tell you that I can remember them all, all of them, every single one. I could fill several volumes, but ill spell out a few for you here and I’ll start with the lesser and work up.
- The doorbell expert.
This customer called the office and spoke to my operations manager. He asked if we could send a team over to his property to replace a doorbell transformer, he insisted that everything else worked perfectly but he wasn’t confident enough to change this part due to there being electricity involved.
Our team arrived with the new transformer and replaced the unit. This didn’t fix the issue as the door still didn’t ring. The customer, however, wouldn’t allow us to test the rest of the system. As there are only two wires and push button to test, it would have taken all of two minutes, but on explanation, he still wouldn’t allow it. The team collected payment and left the address.
The next day the office received a call from the man with the doorbell, and lots of off brand words were said to poor, Nancy. A team was dispatched as requested but on arrival, he wouldn’t let us test anything but the transformer. Luckily, we had another unit in a box, the bell still didn’t work, and he still wouldn’t let the team test the rest of the circuit.
This time the customer wasn’t charged, and we left the property.
Two days later, we received a One star review which can still be seen to this day.
- Micro-Brewery Man.
We received a distress call. The usual story of how they had been let down etc etc and that they were set to be thrown off their deadline for the open day of three months’ time….. Oh yes, and they’re broke but just need a helping hand.
We worked seven days a week for the next ten weeks. 8am to 7pm on weekdays and 6am to 1am on weekends. Not only did we only charge them for one of the three electricians on the job, but only 5% was added to their material cost. It was agreed that nothing was paid to us to cover our labor costs until the end of the job because they had other costs in the development of the building and getting the business ready.
When the work was complete and the brewery open to patrons, the owner of the brewery, lets call him Doug, decided that we should wait to be paid. That we should be paid in little pieces and that we should have to go to his office to collect our payment.
On the receiving the last of the maybe 15 or 20 checks, he passed a letter to our representative, outlining his dislike of his treatment and the price that he had been forced to pay and that the next time he needs and electrician, he will stick to the $15 per hour guy!
Five years later, I still have this letter. I keep in a dry, dark place so that it remains in perfect condition. I don’t need to read it again. The sight of the envelope is enough to remind me of the drag and the harm caused.
Lastly and more recently.
- Let me tell you the story of the man with the two gates.
The phone rang and a lady asked if we could go look at her electric gates and then quote for the repair. It turned out that the two motorised gate arms needed to be replaced at a minimum and we suggested and quoted for the materials and the labor need to replace both.
Several days later, another call and a request for just one arm to be replaced, the right arm, stating that the one remaining arm worked before disconnection… Three years prior!
We ordered the part and on arrival at the property, the team lead asked the owner of the property, which right arm was to be replaced. You see, there is a right side as you arrive at the property and a right side as you leave. The right side as you leave was explained and this was replaced, and the one on the left, even though in very poor condition was also connected to the gate and powered.
My team even graded the driveway to allow for the gates to close without hitting the surface as it had peaked in the middle through use. As the lady left the property, my guys showed her the work and she asked if she could now use her clicker to open and close the gate, which she did, several times, and then went on her way.
Mission accomplished and hi fives all round!!
That afternoon, the office phone rang and was answered to a hail of abuse and threats.
‘You will come back, swap the new arm to the other side and put the one removed back on that side and I want a full refund or I’m taking you to court.’
Several explanations of what we did later, and the receiver was down and sweat was wiped from my managers brow…. Ughhh!
The phone rang with a similar theme several times a day for the next few days, until Saturday came around and I was in the office alone and answered the call.
Me: ‘Hello, good morning, thank you for calling…..’
Two Gates: ‘You’re going to come back, swap the gate arms over, give me a full refund or I’m taking you to court.’
Me: ‘Tell me what you think has happened’
Two Gates: ‘You came and changed the wrong arm, are you stupid, I told you to change the right arm!’
Me: We did ask which right before we changed it. Ill tell you what, pay for only half of the service cost and ill send a team on Monday.
Two Gates: ‘You’re going to come back, swap the gate arms over, give me a full refund or I’m taking you to court.’
I explained in detail what had happened, again. and AGAIN!
Two Gates: ‘You’re going to come back, swap the gate arms over, give me a full refund or I’m taking you to court.’
…. and AGAIN!
…….. and AGAIN!!!
Two Gates: ‘You’re going to come back, swap the gate arms over, give me a full refund or I’m taking you to court.’
Professionalism has its limits….
Me: ‘Mr Powell?’
Two Gates: ‘Yes!’
Me: ‘I’m going to swear at you, you’re Bleep-ing INSANE, goodbye.’
A sheriff arrived at my property the following Tuesday and served me.
Mr Two Gates wanted a full refund of parts and materials for the arm replaced and then the same again so that he could have the other arm replaced by someone else, and on top of that, he expected $1800.00 in damages for being “verbally abused”.
I speed dialled my lawyer and he told me that it’d be laughed out and wouldn’t go anywhere.
Eight months later during the COVID driven zoom mediation meeting. The mediator put both of us in separate rooms and after what seems like an hour, comes to me and tells me that I should pay this guy because he has nothing better to do than drag himself and everyone else through court and it’ll cost me more in the end, even though he is sure that I would win.
I can still taste the poison drip down my throat as Mr Powell insisted that I write the check on camera and present both himself and the mediator with the completed check so that they could ensure payment.
The problem that we all have, is that we cater to strangers. People who see no depth to what we offer other than it being something that they want. Even when we get the chance to develop a relationship with these people, it is still very often all one sided.
These strangers are what is more commonly known as customers.
Accountability has up until now only leant against the business and understanding that the customer is always right has been the theme we have had painted on the walls of our offices.
And so, what I am trying to say to you, is that the energy spent making sure that you remove the problematic customer from the equation, is always going to be far less than that of having to deal with them and their drag in the first place.
We need to have a firm eye on those who abuse, so that we can navigate between and around these people and hopefully only deal with those who shine.
And that brings me to the here and now. I decided to drop everything. Quit the business and the industry that I loved and had been working in for the last twenty plus years and try to make a difference.
To create a way of bringing balance. A way to not only have to deal with such cereal abusers of companies large and small, but a way that the great customers could stand out and get the best of treatment.
How much have strangers cost you and your business?
Can you feel the drag?
Are you losing sleep at the moment?
