Not All Customers Are Good Customers
You may think that as a business owner you want every customer you can get your hands on. 
Not true.
Some customers will actually make running a business very hard for you. You have to judge whether the money you make from their custom is worth the time and effort you are putting into them.
So many examples I could quote from business experts I admire but perhaps Paddi Lund is as good as any.
Paddi was a dentist who is his own words was treating mainly ‘drill and fill’ customers. He was working long hours and felt miserable. One Saturday he took a chainsaw to his reception and carved the desk up. He put his customers into categories A,B and C.
A – paid on time, turned up on time and appreciated his work.
B – paid and turned up on time but not much fun to deal with.
C – paid late, missed appointments and complained a lot.
He sacked all his C and B customers and made his dentist practise invitation only. The only way to become his customer was via recommendation by an existing customer.
Did he go bust? Did he lose all his customers?
No. He tripled his income and halved his work hours.
Some customers are simply not worth the hassle. They want Rolls Royce service for Citroen prices. They disrespect you, your skills and your time and leave you feeling frustrated.
Pass them over to somebody else and make space for a quality customer instead.
Paul Browning
Tag:Customers
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8 Comments
How true.
The Customer may always be right, but are some of them worth the grief.
A bit of respect both ways never goes astray.
I AGREE TOTALLY!!
Respect is a two way street. Just because you are the customer and paying for a service, does not mean you are better then the person you are receiving the service from.
I always, go with “Treat others as you would like to be treated!”
There have been many times where I have said “FIRE THE CUSTOMER”.
Oh so true.
My partner and I were having a conversation about this. You could approach it as “a sale is a sale”, but I am tired of dealing with the few customers we have who are over demanding and cause us trouble. Is their patronage worth the money they pay? I agree with you. Sometimes it is just not worth it.
You can’t allow yourself to be treated badly in any situation. Just because someone is a customer doesn’t give them the right to be rude, disrespectful, or bullying.
I’ve served several customers who’s terrible attitudes have actually turned off potential customers. When you see a complaining customer, you tend to just walk away to avoid an uncomfortable situation. Bad for me and very bad for business.
That is so true! Too many times customers actually make us feel as if we’re desperate for their money. I like this write up, it really inspires me to make everything innovative, and take smart risks!
Frankly i’ll discard any problematic customer, they’re just not worth the time. And some of the things they do really stays with you forever. For the sake of your health be a bit picky with your customers.