One of the worst things any business can do is annoy those wonderful people who buy from them regularly. It will likely
Getting it wrong
lose them that client and worse, it will lead to the client telling the world (well at least 20 people) how bad your business is.
Some of the common ways that businesses annoy their clients are:
- Failing to meet delivery dates
- Invoicing for a different amount then agreed, usually much more with additional charges
- Providing defective product or inadequate service
- Ignoring messages, contact and requests for answers
This results in a loss of trust. And trust once lost is difficult to regain especially if the client finds themselves out of pocket.
Guarantees and warranties can help a client have confidence to deal with you in the first place but if you renege on those in any way shape or form, the client will know that you were only offering a false assurance and may report you to either the police for fraud or an appropriate government department.
And then there is what can happen through social media. There are thousands of stories of angry clients posting on Twitter or Facebook a negative experience and what happens is that complaint goes to their friends who send it on to their friends and their friends.
When a client calls for an explanation or to ask questions, the worst thing you can do as a business is avoid them Most clients are asking questions because they just want clarity but if you fail to answer their inquiry, the client assumes that you are trying to deceive them. While this may be your intention, I believe that most business people are honest and the reason they fail to answer client questions is because they do not know the answer or worse the answer will cost them money, time or effort.
Recent court cases where CEOs have been charged with fraud, malfeasance and other terrible crimes against shareholders and clients, state that they were unaware of what their staff were doing. This argument fortunately does not get them out of trouble and it does not remedy the problems of their clients or shareholders either. Even if they go to jail for a few years, their family lives in comfort and their shareholders and clients are forced into bankruptcy and foreclosure.
And it all starts with how you, the business owner, treat your customers, clients, prospects, staff and shareholders.
If you treat people with respect and keep your word, answer their concerns and deal with them above board then all will be well with your business. Treat them to deceive and protect yourself and you are writing your own ticket to disaster.
Starting today, run your business to satisfy your clients, deal with them always as you want to be dealt with and provide the service you promised plus a little extra.
Please comment on any time that you were annoyed by a business and what happened to the relationship. (Keep names, and dates out of the post though).
Roberta
Passionate, Purposeful Performer
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March 27, 2012
The last line says it all, Roberta.
Treat your clients and customers the way you want to be treated yourself- so that they won’t have any reason to add YOUR name to this list.
Roy A. Ackerman, Ph.D., E.A. recently posted..It’s not the ides of April this year
Thanks Roy. You have to wonder sometimes about some businesses given the way they treat people.
Great article Roberta – as a small business owner it always astounds me that other businesses get away with shoddy service. Transparent pricing is such an important aspect of what I do, graphic design is an area that many business owners are unfamiliar with and often they fear that they will be hit with a huge unexpected invoice at the end of it. As service providers we must be careful to make clients aware of the costs upfront and then update them along the way if additional charges occur. In my experience this makes for a much better relationship with the client than slapping them with an unexpectedly large invoice and just hoping it will slip through without question. Chances are, you’ll never see them again!
Tambre, in your area you are the expert. If you quote me, then I expect you to be within that quote and that time frame. Recent experiences with many “experts” has been, charge for overages because the agreement is unclear what you are getting in the first place. Having worked for years on fixed price contracts, my job has always been to deliver first time every time to the budget quoted. If I quoted wrong it is MY problem rather than the clients and if they change the parameters, then the contract needs to be renegotiated. It is called getting clarity. And sometimes businesses get away with unprofessionalism because once you have gone so far down the track, you are damned if you pull out and the situation will cost more either staying or going but…the problem is still there, the money is gone and the stress and tension increased because of the action of these unprofessionals.