Would you take a punch from a problematic or difficult customer?

By Valentine Okolo

Would you ever tell a problematic customer that you don’t need their patronage anymore?

If you're a business owner or service personnel, then you'd agree with me that we've all had to manage difficult customers at one point or the other. Would you ever tell a problematic customer to buzz off with their patronage?

There’s this saying that the customer is always right. Customers are both demanding and ruthless; they reward highly those companies that serve them best and allow those companies that serve them poorly to fail. Let’s face it; customers care more about themselves and their own satisfaction than they do about the success or failure of your company. Customers do get upset at times but we must keep in mind that customer complaints also present sale opportunities. This is true for the average customer. Problematic customers on the other hand could be troublesome and sometimes violent.

Having said this, customers are hard to come by and competition is increasing by the day. If you must let a customer go, it must be for the right reasons. One would have to place a premium on how much he is willing to sacrifice to keep a customer. I once asked in a public discussion what people would do if they were punched in the face by an angry customer. Someone answered that he would gladly receive the punch for a million dollar worth of business.  I find it amusing how people would ordinarily be unwilling to receive a punch on face value but where there is a financial incentive, the reverse may just be the case. So what am I trying to say here? He/she will have to consider the how much business is currently received from the customer, whether or not the customer is an instrumental part of the success of the business as well as the potential earnings from such customer. A customer cost benefit analysis should be able to answer this.

 If the customer is violent then it is probably better to discontinue doing business with them. Tolerance is an essential part of customer service but where a customer poses a physical danger to service personnel and other customers then it is better to discontinue doing business with them. However, i do not believe that most conflicts would degenerate to this. 

Practicing emotional intelligence and exuding exceptional people and customer management skills can help resolve a lot of challenges currently faced in handling problematic people. These skills include professionalism, empathy, responsibility, a listening ear, courteousness, positive body language, apologizing when wrong, appreciation and respect for the individual amongst others. If all these do not work and I think it should, then you must reconsider your business relationship with the customer.

Article By Valentine Okolo