When Customers Go Away
Today I had the unfortunate event of saying goodbye to a customer. Nobody likes to see a customer go away, but sometimes saying goodbye is the right thing to do. As we all work really hard to get customers, there are those customers that make us work even harder. There is nothing wrong with that, but one must always be careful and to make sure they aren't just "Working You".
That was the case with this customer. I started to wonder why I never got any follow up work, and it was because they were basically using me to figure out how to do the same work and then resell it. There is nothing wrong with that, we should all be in the game of teaching others, it's just how you go about it that makes all the difference in the world.
While going through this exercise, I knew it wasn't something that I could take lightly. Above all, I knew it wasn't something that I could react emotionally too. Making rash emotional decision is never a good idea, especially when it comes to those who pay your bills. With this customer I had to ask myself whether or not I really wanted to spend my time doing work for them, and remember part of owning your own business is getting to decide who you do business with.
So I decided to sever my relationship with this individual and wish them success in the future. I do wish the best for them, even though we are now competitors, which is why I think it was so important to take a stand. I don't compete on price, nor will I do "ANYTHING" to get an order from a customer. I genuinely like the people I have the pleasure of serving, and for those that don't have respect, they can go someplace else.
Sometimes customers go away, and that's ok.
Posted on: Jan 19, 2010
Filed in: Business, Customers
Tag:
Customers
0 Comments
No Comments yet, why don't you start it off ↓
Post Your Comment
Please use Markdown syntax for formatting. No HTML is allowed. By using this comment form, it's assumed that you agree with the terms of my comment policy.
Categories
Archives