Fire Your Problem Customers - Experience?

[olimits7]

Hi,

I'm sure most of you have dealt with a bad customer in the past.

I came across this article where Perry Marshall goes into saying not to deal with problem customers and fire them if they bring nothing to the bottom line and take up more of your resources that you can be applying to your good customers.

[entrepreneur.com...]

Has anyone ever parted ways with bad/problem customers? What was your best method in doing this, killing them with kindness or taking a more direct approach?

Thank you!

[makeonlineshop]

I often explain them that they should purchase somewhere else, but it is when they order more from my shop as a revenge !

[dpd1]

Usually the worst ones will actually contact me ahead of time. They're the ones that ask a million questions... Say they've tried a bunch of stuff before... And/or ask what the return policy is. That's the big red flag for me. In my mind, if you're asking about the return policy, you're probably going to return it. In a very crafty way, I have steered people away, by basically making them think the product is crap.

For people who have already bought something... The majority of the time, I will appease them one way or another. Either legitimately, if something actually is wrong... Or in some sort of placating way, if it's BS. In that case, usually what I do is put out a big effort to help them, and just keep going forever. They can't say I'm not helping, but... they also have no real reason to continue. Eventually they give up. I under no circumstances want to risk a serial nut making me their project for the next 5 years. I can't afford that kind of bad publicity in my niche. So basically... I never do anything that will offend anybody, nor do I ignore them. I feel that's the worst thing you can do.

[makeonlineshop]

Totally agree !

The best customers buy for hundreds $ and never contact me when the retarded ones send many messages to spend $20 and then make problems later !

[HRoth]

I have two ways I have dealt with such people. If by phone, I identify their phone number and don't pick up when they call and don't return their messages. I don't respond to their emails. If they order something, I void it without saying anything. I think you can tell I have had a few of these. For me, these are time-sucks who want a lot of information for very little income for me. People I have had whom I fired were sometimes crazy, or they wanted me to give them a lot of prices for quantities and never bought anything in quantity, or they wanted to inform me of how I was wrong about x, y, and z, or they want me to modify a historically accurate product to suit them.

[Essex_boy]

And dont place your home phone number on the domain reg forms.... Ive had one ring me at home leave weird messages 'Ill make sure you cant do this to anyone else' type of call.....

[Rugles]

This is a real issue for us as well.

Quite often I will suggest that "this product is not going to work for you". Or simply drag my feet when replying to phone calls or emails. Or when replying give short incomplete answers.

Funny .. but a sales guy across the room is trying to escape from a problem customer right now. He just gets a little surly, I do not think that is the correct tactic because it can make somebody confrontational.