Not all customers are pleasant. In fact, chances are you have had at least one – and probably many more – that have been so difficult that you have had to fight not to grind your teeth into dust. Sometimes, irritating clients just have to be dealt with, and with the same courtesy as anyone else. But how do you know when it is time to say ‘enough’ and cut your losses?

The first way of knowing is deciding whether or not it really is a loss. A customer who takes up a great deal of time and energy might be costing you more than they are making you. If you find yourself dealing with constant late payments, low fees, or just a great deal of stress in yourself and your employees, there is a good chance they aren’t making you enough to justify keeping them around.

Another is just the irritation factor. You really don’t have to put up with a customer that is out of hand. If they persistently rub you the wrong way, mistreat you or staff, or are late on payments or constantly retract bids and promises, it is alright to tell them to take their business elsewhere. There is no rule saying you have to sacrifice your sanity for a couple of bucks you can likely make up with another client. And letting them go will give you the ability to search for one.

But there is a right way and a wrong way of conducting this sort of situation. The relationship between a company and a customer is a delicate one, much more than you might think. When you let a client go you are risking word getting out to other potential customers. Which is why you have to handle it with professionalism, grace, and courtesy.

Professionalism

Let’s say you have this customer who has been with you for a few months. In that time they have terrorized your employees, called everyone from yourself to your mother’s pet poodle names, and generally made your life a misery. It might be tempting to pick up the phone and tell them where to shove it, but it isn’t proper business behavior.
Instead, explain that you can no longer handle their business, and direct them to someone else you think might be better suited to cover their needs. Apologize and perhaps offer something to compensate their trouble, even if it makes you grit your teeth to do it without a snarl. Being professional will keep that customer from badmouthing you and creating a bad image that will effect future business. Also, being nice to people at the end will make your feel better in my opinion.

Grace

Don’t fly off the handle. When you hear of a complaint or disagreement step in and clarify things from the beginning. Be calm and collected, and try to take care of it right them. Letting a problem build can be a a catalyst for a much bigger explosion later on. After all, if a customer calls with a problem and they are overly angry it might seem like an overreaction to you. But if they have had continual problems you are unaware of, it makes more sense. Try to diffuse the situation early on. This is actually something I have to keep reminding myself, because from time to time I make this stupid mistake.

Courtesy

Sometimes you need to lie. I don’t mean about your business, your product or your service. But if you have problem customer that you are letting go, don’t be too honest about your reasons. It might seem like it would be satisfying to give them a run down of everything they did wrong, but it will cause the same problems that a lack of professionalism will. Besides, they are unlikely to listen, and will just use it as ammunition when they complain about you later.

If you have to fire a customer you wouldn’t be the first one. The old adage of “the customer is always right” is far from true. But just because you are rebelling against that mentality doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice your own business ethic to do it. Know when and how to let go of your problem client, and you will have more time, energy and less frustration without causing problems for yourself and your company.

Obviously, for some of you it is against your ethics to lie for whatever reason it is, if so, at least try to be courtesy, you don’t need to lie but at the same time you don’t need to tell every thing, right?

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