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Disagreements with Customers Are No Small Matter

Miguel Salcido

March 05, 2015

Your customers are in essence the lifeline of your existence. When you come right down to it, without them, your small business would not exist.

With that in mind, do you go out of your way to please your clients or do you get into occasional battles with them, sometimes aired for many in the public to see?

As a small business owner, while you have to set limits with what you can do for your customers, you should always hear their side of the story whenever there is a dispute over a payment, the condition of a product or service you sold them, and when they’ve had a run-in with one of your employees.

Be Open-Minded When Dealing with Clients

For starters, there are several simple things that you can and should be doing to get and keep yourself on the good side of your clients.

They include:

• Customer service – First and foremost, your customer service actions go a long way in determining how many customers stick with you. If your customers are waiting long periods of time on the phone, standing in line, or being shuffled around from this department to that department, you stand a good chance of losing some of them. Always treat your customers (and this message should be echoed time and time again to your employees) the way you would want to be treated. This also includes not arguing with them and/or being condescending in any manner. If there is a disagreement over customer service etc. don’t debate it on social media or in the public in front of others. Do it in a professional manner;
  
  
• Time management – How you and your staff respond to customers in a timely manner is critical. Per example, a customer buys a product from your small business and is not happy with it. They go online to your website to try and return the product for another one or get a refund. Your website is continually crashing and they are forced to call your office to seek assistance. Once they try that approach, they’re left hanging for minutes at a time. When they call back and finally do get someone, they’re put on hold. You’re simply playing with fire if you can’t do time management correctly when it comes to your customers;
  
  
• Specials and rewards – While you can’t give your customers everything your small business has to offer, you should be providing them with special deals and rewards programs to show them how appreciative you are of their business. Not only is this a good financial move (they’re likely to spend more money with you over time by doing this), but it also can be great PR for your business. Many of them will likely tell their friends and family about your company; you can never get enough free advertising.

While there are many things you can do to show your customers you appreciate them, start with the above-mentioned tips.

When you do, you’re more likely to see an uptick in sales and long-term relationships.

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