Chapter Nine
How to Handle Clients and Customers
We all need customers and clients to make our home business successful, but there will be times you wish you didn't. The good news is that most people are very kind and will never cause you a minute's trouble.
So how do you handle the ones that are trouble? Each scenario will be different but here is the way I have always handled customer and clients. If you are talking to them on the phone or corresponding by email, be sure and tell them you understand how they feel. This puts them at ease. Try to put yourself in their place and you might understand their complaint a little better.
Maybe they just didn't use your product correctly, and you can share some tips on how to best utilize it. Or maybe they thought you were going to do something in the service you did for them which was not included. There could be a hundred reasons why someone is upset.
If possible go with the premise that the customer is always right, but if it's a principle you don't feel you can compromise with, then don't. It is important to remember that getting publicity by word of mouth works both ways. The bad news of your company will spread just like the good news, so try to remember that when handling customers.
A dissatisfied customer yelling over the phone is no fun either. If you will start talking while they are yelling, yet talk so soft they can't hear really what you are saying, it won't be long before they will shut up and listen.
Remember when people are yelling that you should respond, not react. They are not really yelling at you, they are yelling at the situation.
One problem I have had as a writer is worth mentioning here for those of you that will also be offering a service oriented business. There have been times that I have quoted a price for doing a particular job for someone and after they pay you and you start on the work, they call or email you with some extra's they would like done at the same time. In my case here is what happened.
One client wanted me to write his article and post to his blog, which I agreed to do.
Within the first few days he asked would it be too much trouble for me to put some links to other sites in the articles. I agreed, thinking that was it. In about a week, he asked could I take that same article and submit it to an article directory for him.
After all there was no more writing involved he said. I still had to take time to log into the directory site, post the article, write the keywords, and do a few other things which took an extra 15 minutes of my time which I wasn't getting paid for.
You can see where this is going. I was fairly new at the time and so I agreed because it was regular work coming in from this person week after week.
The problem was it was taking more and more of my time to make the same amount of money. After a while I told him I could not do all that for the same low price. Yes, he took his business elsewhere and it was the best thing that ever happened to me because I found that I don't need any ONE person to make my business a success. I was soon booked with more work than I could handle, so don't let anyone take advantage of you.
Good customer service is important no matter what business you are in, so remember to treat others in the same manner in which you would like to be treated. If you do this everything will work out just fine.