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Ever hear any of this from a big companies customer service department —
usually from a nasally, crabby voice waiting for you after your miraculous negotiation of an automated phone system filled with land mines and booby traps threatening to send you to the wrong part of their twisted outsourced world or disconnect you altogether:
- Sorry sir/madam — It’s against our company policy to provide a refund.
- Sorry sir/madam — Our Terms of Service states that you can’t have an extension on that warranty — even if it is only expired by one day.
- Sorry sir/madam — Our legal department maintains that it is your fault that you used our product on your pet ferret.
And we generally take it — sometimes we get steaming mad. But [those of us that are rational] are not mad at the nasally, crabby voice.
After all — why do you think the voice is crabby? Because it consistently has to enforce company policies that customers are less than thrilled about.
The nasally voice is just a messenger. And we don’t shoot messengers. It’s not their call. They have no power.
It’s nothing personal.
Tiny Business Don’t Have This Luxury
When your client calls you and says:
- Hey — can I get an extension on paying this invoice?
- Hey — can you redo this service even though I gave you the wrong specifications?
- Hey — can you pay me “pain and suffering” damages for the loss of my pet ferret?
Can you say?– Sorry – that’s against my Terms and Conditions – Sorry — that’s against company policy.
You ARE the company.
Now, it’s personal. The customer is talking directly to the person that makes every decision for this company — the boss — YOU. Uh oh.
Your customer is thinking — “Certainly you will make an exception in this case — for me.” 
Get Your Ducks In A Row
Most customers do not care that there is a policy about this or that but they don’t want to find out about it — after the fact.
They don’t want to feel like you are making up the rules as you go along. This is easier said than done for a tiny business — but there needs to be clear policies in place and those policies need to be discussed with all current and potential customers.
Don’t wait until it’s time to pull a “bad cop” and enforce the policy. If you must do this [because you can't cover every contingency at the outset of a project] make darn certain that you are in the right — and then enforce the policy sternly in person if possible, over the phone if not possible.
Try not to do so over email – could get lost in translation.
Blame It On the Rain
Bring a third party into the conversation — even if that person doesn’t really exist.
For example you could say:
Listen, I have been working with a business coach and she is encouraging me to enforce the Net 30 terms on my invoices. I hope you understand.
This advice has worked for me in many situations and was provided to me by a dear friend and business mentor. Don’t consider it to be misleading even if you are not truly working with a third party business coach.
I am my own business coach in some ways — and I have certainly been encouraging myself to put the policies in place that will create win-win situations for all involved in a business transaction.
What about you? How do you keep it from getting too personal without letting customers take advantage of you?
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{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Russ:
You make excellent points here.
A written contract of what products/services will be provided for what sum of money under what payment terms, is really essential for many business transactions.
Reviewing the details of the contract will be a good filter for fleshing out any possible conflicts. If the conflicts can’t be resolved in writing, it’s better to pass on the possible business.
The ‘third party’ in these transactions could be the ‘attorney who I spend too much with to ignore his advice’. Explain “the contract protects both parties. It’s how I do business.”
It’s best to find out what land mines are out there and blow them up before striking a deal.
There are also times clients should be fired. If they demand too much in service or terms of payments or extra product, they might not be worth continuing to do business with.
BTW, where did you get that picture of me?
@Fred — Thanks for the great comment Fred — you have helped me out more than you can believe with this area of my business — payment, proposals, the sales process is very difficult for me —
Finding land mines before the deal is struck is absolutely important and is something that takes tact and confidence but can be the difference between a successful project and a complete disaster.