Vlad’s School of Customer Service: Firing Customers

One of my biggest pet peeves is when people start talking about firing clients. Regardless of justification, it comes off as the most arrogant move an IT solution provider can make. The message you’re sending to your client with your actions is: “You’re just here to get me to the next step, at which point we can do better than you” Do it to the wrong person and they will crush you in the Chamber of Commerce, smirge your reputation. Effectively, your once best customer can become your worst enemy.

But lets face reality, there are times when you’re going to have to part ways. And just when you get to the point of picking up that phone to crush the asshole on the other side to the oblivion and tell him everything you’ve been bottling for months, stop. Before you pick up that phone, or the pen, depending on how cowardly you are, stop. When you’ve reached your absolute breaking point – give the client a call and level with them: Here is what we’ve done, here is how we’ve gone above and beyond the call of duty and here is how things played out. The client is obviously unhappy. You are unhappy. You can both do better. Take a lead by saying that even though you’ve helped them this time, the next time they are on their own.

But the key is not to fire them now. The key is not to fire anyone, ever. The key is for them to understand that change is needed and perhaps you shouldn’t be a part of it. And in that situation, you should do whatever you can to accomodate them out of the door – be it recommending a local partner/competitor, giving a free assessment, exit interview, you name it. Your final task with a client is not to throw them out the window, your final task ought to be consultative one – you’re finding a solution to their problem (your company) and the solution is finding someone else to deal with them