Though keeping customers happy and expanding your customer base is a vital part of any successful business, there may be some customers who test your ability to provide positive customer service. We often forget that as business owners, we can choose to keep or distance ourselves from our customers. In this article, learn three ways to say “No” to bad customers and the value of being selective.
Why It Pays to Be Selective
Customers, whether they are verbally abusive or just an inefficient use of your energy, can be bad for any business. Trying to keep them happy can be a waste of time and resources, or may simply not fit your business’ core values.
Here are three types of customers who can have a negative impact on your business and ways to say, “No” to them.
1. The Unrealistic Customer
These customers can be identified by their unnecessary demands for your time, impossible requests, expectation of extra products or services, or threats to spread bad reviews about your business if their demands are not met.
How to Say No
As soon as things get out of hand, the best thing to do is to reset your customer’s expectations. It’s never easy, but you need to put the customer back on track politely and professionally. If the situation cannot be resolved, then it may be the right time to let them go.
2. The Foul-Mouthed Customer
Whether its to emphasize their point or to be verbally abusive, these customers tend to use a lot of profanity. This can be demoralizing, reduce productivity, and harm you and your employees’ work culture.
How to Say No
Angry customers want to make you angry too. They want you to fight back and lose your temper, so the only way to actually get through the situation is to remain calm.
Here are three steps to stop a cursing customer:
- Acknowledge: Let the customer know that you understand what they are going through. A simple, “I understand how frustrating this is for you,” may be enough to stop their unwelcome behaviour.
- Warn: Tell the customer, as calmly as you can, that you aren’t comfortable with their behavior, and ask them to call back later if the profanity doesn’t stop.
- Drop it: If the cursing continues, hang up and document what happened. This documentation may be useful for legal or business purposes.
3. The Disrespectful Customer
This is the easiest unwelcome customer to identify. It can just take one action, be it a phone call or an email, to know you are working with a disrespectful or rude customer. Similar to foul-mouthed customers, disrespectful customers can impact retention, productivity, and engagement, and are harmful to the health and wellbeing of you and your team – among other negative consequences for your business.
Disrespectful actions can include:
- Making hom*ophobic, racist, sexist, or otherwise hateful remarks
- Insults and bullying
- Raised voice
How to Say No
The general rule of thumb for dealing with disrespectful customers is to be courteous and to disarm any escalating situation as calmly and professionally as possible.
Summary
Even when dealing with customers who have a negative impact on you, your employees, and your business, it’s also important to remember that customers get to complain about businesses, not the other way around. Choosing your words and actions carefully can pay off, and your seemingly unwelcome customers may surprise you with how well they respond to your professional courtesy and assertiveness.
However, above all else, never be afraid to stand up for yourself and your employees in the face of hurtful, disrespectful, or abusive customers.
Small Business BC is Here to Help
SBBC is a non-profit resource centre for BC-based small businesses. Whatever your idea of success is, we’re here to provide holistic support and resources at every step of the journey. Check out our range of business webinars, on-demand E-Learning Education, our Talk to an Expert Advisories, or browse our business articles.
