Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

Hi all,

A company I work for just sent a notice to a large customer that we will no longer quote orders for them.  This customer, over the last few years, has requested quotes on twenty different jobs.  These were all large quotes that took a lot of time to write up.  But, out of twenty quotes, the customer has not made a single purchase.  They simply sent the quote request to meet company policy to get three of four quotes.  Their purchasing agent knew in advance she was not going to buy from us.

 

Another company I worked for dropped customers who were chronically delinquent in their payments.   They usually were not spending enough money with us to justify the time and money needed to collect the past due account.

 

 

 

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The older we get, the more excuses we make for not chasing after our dreams. But truth is, goals are attainable at any age.

Very recently I found it necessary to fire a customer. I don`t do it lightly, but every so often I get a customer who so high-maintenance that it just isn`t fair to my other customers. This is the type who wants everything done for free or a mere pittance, and who then wastes a huge amount of my time with work that half the time they then decide is not what they wanted after all, fabricating all sorts of excuses in order to not pay for what they received or asking to have it for almost nothing. They have no care for the delays they have caused everyone else, only that their every demand is met the moment they make it. They are also the type who will call you at any hour including weekends, nights and holidays, and expect you to do their work right then "because they want it done NOW."

It`s because it affects my other customers so strongly that I eventually decide to fire them. The money they lose for me is an issue, yes, but giving in to all their demands will alienate all my other customers eventually when their work is not being done in a timely manner. Just one of these HM types can bring a small business with low cash flow to its knees very quickly, if permitted to continue. One simply must fire them in a self-defense. It is better to let them go than allow it escalate to where they get angry and vengeful because you didn`t treat them as gods who can do no wrong and whose every whim you must satisfy. I did that once in all innocence, sure that I could get this customer to be happy if I only worked hard enough. But no, there was no pleasing them and never would be. I ended up refunding most of what they had paid me, so not only did I lose a lot of time but I also lost a good deal of money as well on the deal.

With this kind I almost always find out, after a little investigation, that these types have been through a few different firms doing the same thing every time, taking it as far as they can until those firms politely suggest that perhaps they would be better served elsewhere. They are always looking for the deal, and manage to get a good bit of work done for next to nothing because of this ploy. All one can do it send them on their way.

Most customers are a delight to work with and I enjoy them immensely....for those who are not, there is no reason to keep them hanging around where neither you, nor they, are well-served.