Last week, I received an email from Jimmy, a new Generation Y friend I met on LinkedIn. He wanted to know how to deal with a customer that makes unreasonable demands. He asked if I ever wrote about the subject. Up until now, no.
Though, when I was a sales executive in the high tech software world, I had my share of customers who were very very hard to please.
In my coaching business, I could only think of one client out of several hundred whose been unreasonable. Lucky? Perhaps. I think I do a real good job at setting the right expectations.
On Friday, during the lunch hour, I had 45 minutes before my next coaching session, so, I asked Jimmy Gen Y to call me at 12:15 pm to further explore the topic. As I waited for the phone to ring, I nommed on a healthy Wegmans salmon burger, thinking of the times when I had an unruly customer and how I handled the situation.
Jimmy Gen Y’s client was unhappy with the new invoicing system his company put in place. A system to make things easier. More streamlined.
She, unreasonable customer, wanted nothing to do with new. Jimmy dealt with her in a professional manner, managing the situation the best he knew how. Unfortunately, he was at a standstill. Sometimes, it’s hard to teach an old dog new tricks.
The customer is a well-known entity, though, their revenue numbers don’t contribute significantly to the bottom line. One of those clients with instant name recognition. A marquee name you namedrop when trying to close new biz with a fresh prospect.
Jimmy Gen Y described the situation to his branch manager. For whatever reason, BM decided to acquiesce and give the customer what they wanted. BM probably had bigger fish to fry.
“Was her demand reasonable?” I asked Jimmy, as I finished the last bite of my delicious salmon burger. “No it wasn’t” he replied. “In fact, it will cause her more work if she continues to do things the old way” he added. “Interesting” I mused.
My Millennial friend and I brainstormed as to what might have been going on with this unreasonable customer:
- She felt the new system was going to cause her more work.
- She’s the type that likes to growl at a vendor just for the sake of growling. Grrrr.
- She was getting grief from above. Boss barked, she barked, we all bark!
- She was in a bad mood due to an unrelated circumstance.
- She felt the new system would be too efficient and eliminate her position.
Most people don’t like change. If they don’t see any upside for them, or feel threatened, they’re unlikely to hop on board the new boat. Instead, they opt to remain on Status Quo Island where it’s comfortable. Familiar. No surprises.
So, what do you do when you come face to face with an unreasonable customer and their teeth start to show?
- Expect the Best – As you engage with each customer, expect the best resolution for all parties will be reached. If you go into the discussion with your guard up, the customer will see it, feel it, and try to bust right through it, over it, or around it. You get what you expect, so, expect a marvy outcome.
- See Their Side – Put on your empathetic hat. Try walking in your customers shoes and experience what they’re feeling. Even if it makes no sense at the time. Go to their side of the table. Be genuinely concerned about what’s truly best for them and deliver as much value as possible.
- Be Curious – Don’t fall into react mode just because a customer is unhappy and starts to bark. You don’t need a quick answer. Keep your cool. Answer their question with a question. Listen and reflect back to the customer in a neutrally charged way. Sometimes, letting the customer verbalize their own feelings solves the issue at hand without you having to do a thing.
- Understand Behavior Styles – Anyone in your company, that’s in daily close interactions with the customer, needs to understand behavioral styles. Meaning, how to effectively communicate with someone that’s direct, versus another that’s touchy feely, versus another that likes to analyze things eight ways to Sunday. I offer coaching in this area, so, contact me to learn more.
What’s your “unreasonable customer” story? How did you solve the issue? What techniques can you share below?
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Photo courtesy of State Archives of Florida.
Good post.
I tend to go into problem solving reaction mode. You’ve given me a reason to hit the pause button and simply ask better questions.
Thanks Steve.
Hit the pause button. That’s exactly what I’d like you to do.
This is a great article, and so relevant! But, I’d like to point out one glaring omission: Train the customer!
A customer’s perception that something is too difficult to use changes dramatically once they actually know how to use it (and know how it benefits them). Knowing what to do lowers their defensive walls against change, and raises their confidence in what they’re doing – something that’s usually opposite when they’re given something they don’t understand.
I’ve also learned that the customer isn’t always right. And some problem clients are usually best left behind so you can concentrate on those that result in win-win situations.
Great catch on the training Paul.
In my former life, the software world, the challenge was forming the bridge from where they lived to where we wanted to take them.
Change is scary. Perception is everything.
Well thought out response.
This is a very relevant point. Those who are open and willing to training may then find what benefit you have to offer.
Though, some are stuck in their ways and learning something new may be thought of as ‘risk taking’ with the old adage, if it ain’t broke don’t fix it.
True Ryan. As I said in the post, sometimes you can’t teach an old dog new tricks. If the client is not receptive, fear is in play on their part.
Hi Steve;
I’ve been working in sales for many years and I never had to deal with unreasonable customers, although some of my collegues would disagree.
Sometimes, when an important deal was going bad, they asked me to interfere.
First thing I always asked the salesperson: ‘How are you thinking about this client/prospect?’ And I always got more or less the same answer: wasn’t very positive.
So the first thing I asked them to do is change their minds; focus on the things that where going ok. The prospect let you in, they wanted to talk, they showed interest in our services.
During these years I discovered that when a prospect or client was named unreasonable by a salesperson in almost every case it was about the same thing the salesperson complained about before.
I remember one salesperson particulair: he always complained about the long time it took for the servicepeople to arrive and he always said that was the reason a client left us. The fact that other clients didn’t complain to the other salespersons, while they waited even longer for the same service, was a fact he didn’t seem to hear.
Sometimes he called his clients unreasonable, sometimes the organisation he worked for.
It never occured to him that it could have something to do with himself.
He quit the job and years later I was talking with his salesmanager: still the same complaint….;-)
When some of my clients complain I always take their complaint seriously and even if I can’t meet the standards of my client the fact that I am taking it seriously and always try to fix it, give me enough credits. I rarely lose customers.
Although I’m not a believer of using presuppositions out of the context they made for, the presupposition: ‘you are responsable for the effect of your own communication’, is, from a sales point of view, a good way of thinking about communication in relation with prospects and clients.
I can go on with this subject for many days, Steve, I hope my answer meets your standards.
It reminds me of some good old days….. Thanks for that!
Hug,
JanC
Spoken like a true sales pro.
The average and sub par sales reps blame everyone else. It sounds like what you’re saying Jan is you want them to take responsibility.
I agree with you on taking complaints seriously. Everyone wants to be heard. Taking a pause and listening goes a long way in establishing a solid relationship with the client.
Don’t be a stranger Jan. Come back soon and share your knowledge!
ok so many businesses make decisions to implement change without consulting their most valuable stakeholder, their customers.
This always results in customers having a very different picture to that of the business. The answer…you need to know what both pictures look like; you need to articulate the commonalities to the customer, then reaffirm the differences that provide a positive benefit for them.
How do you do that, you ask? Be prepared, Be present, listen, match their conversation and lead them to a space where they “see” more of the “picture”.
remember one glove does not fit all, your conversation style will need to change for each customer but your information should be consistent.
Janette, I like your point on matching their conversation style.
I help clients adapting their behavior through the use of the TrimetrixHD assessment. Understanding behaviors of self and others is one part of the three assessments.
Please visit again Janette. Insightful perspective.
It always comes down to communication. An “unreasonable” customer is more likely a customer that a salesperson has not taken the full steps to understand what their ‘reason’ is for being upset. This often can come from the salesperson being afraid to step in and ask what their reason is for being upset or in that the salesperson has not fully educated the client about the limits of the product or service. I diffuse client situations by suggesting we take a step back and then I let them fully explain (air out) the issue so I can fully understand their issue and then I ask what there preferred solution is or what remedies they think are appropriate. I approach this as something we reasonable people can work on together. Most time a dissatisfied client wants to be heard and respected first and foremost, they want a forum. Listen and you are halfway to the problem being solved. Take action and it will be soon. Showing respect for your client’s opinions and demonstrating an effort to resolve the problem is key. Tip to newer salespeople: Passionate dissatisfied customers can more easily be turned into your most passionate referral sources than those who never speak up. The passionate ones care and will share with others.
Communication is paramount. I agree Diana.
I also like your next to last sentence. When I was a Sales Executive in the IT world, I welcomed unhappy customers. What an opportunity to turn them into a raving fan!
Thanks for your comments.
Steve,
I came across your article and I have a question maybe you can solve.
I am a sales woman, and I am very good at resolving customer issues. Because of my personality, I naturally handle customer service issues the way you and others describe as the best ways to handle unruly customers.
One challenge many of my coworkers and I have is the unruly customer that just won’t quit. They just get pissed, are done with it, and don’t care if the customer diverts to a competitor. They say its just 1 customer and they will find another. Unfortunately, I do not have this opinion. Yes it’s one customer now, but it adds up over time. If your constantly taking two steps forward and one step back, how can you ever get ahead! Plus, everyone knows its more expensive for a company to find a new customer than retain one. In a nutshell, even my supervisors have this mentality, so their no help.
Basically, I’m finding more and more customers getting too used to the tacticts of understand, apologize, and resolve. They want more and more. Nothing satisfies them. There has to be some psychological reasoning to understand and a tactic to counter it. What do you think?
Brandy, that’s a great question.
I’d be happy to talk offline if you have time. Whats’ your industry?
If not simply ask, “What can I do to be of great service today?”
Salespeople have got to get better at asking questions before the customer buys the product or service. Get to the heart of why they’re making the purchase. Do more than sell. Create an unforgettable experience.
Create an experience so powerful, so profound, the customer says to themselves “I’d be crazy to do business with anyone but this salesperson.”
Does this help?
Sometimes you have to be willing to let a customer go if their needs don’t coincide with your needs. If this was something easy to do then I could see it but for the work it was going to cause his company and for the little bit of return that came back she’d have had to go… although I would have tried showing her how it could benefit both of us before I made that move.
And, as you know, I’ve done it here and there over the years.
Thanks Mitch. I concur about letting customers go. In fact, back in the day, I’ve sent customers to competitors as a sales executive in the IT world. Let the competition deal with them. These customer types will slow them down. ;-p