Don’t Let Your Customers Take Advantage of You

You know what they say — the customer is always right — but do you believe it? What do you do when the customer is actually wrong, or more likely, when a customer does something wrong, such as trying to take advantage of you? This may be a rare occurence, however, all small business and work from home business owners will have to deal with the occassional customers who’ll try to take advantage. So what do you do? Do you always maintain the idea that the customer is always right? Or is there a different approach you can take to deal with this situation?

Here are some helpful tips that could save you some time and frustation dealing with this type of customer:

Always maintain clear and effective communication with your customers to prevent anyone from trying to take advantage of you. Most of the time a client doesn’t intentionally try to take advantage, but somewhere along the way something may not have been communicated clearly until it’s too late, leading to a misunderstanding and thus the client has your business in a position of disadvantage. You can prevent misunderstandings by practicing clear, unambiguous communication skills. Make sure everything you promised your client is in writing whether you deal with contracts or you work online using email. Most of the time a misunderstanding will happen when there is only a verbal agreement, either on the phone or in person.

So, always get it in writing. Have you ever been in a situation where you wished you had a recording of a conversation to prove your point? Getting all of your deals in writing will usually avoid being taken advantage of by one of your clients. If you have a verbal conversation that leads to an agreement, it’s always smart to take notes and to send out a follow-up letter or email to summarize and confirm exactly what was discussed. This takes some extra work, but will, in the long run, save you from any misunderstandings that could arise. Keep all the proper paper work required for your business on hand so you have it when you need it. Even better, try to avoid verbal agreements with clients all together.

Make sure you’re organized. Keeping your files and accounts organized makes it a lot easier to find the information you need when a customer disputes their account or a sale. If you have a messy, disorganized office and can never find the proper documentation, you put yourself at a disadvantage with a customer.

If you have employees, the hiring process will play a significant role in preventing your business from being taken advantage of in a negative way. Do your due diligence when hiring staff and make sure you hire someone you know you can trust. Carefully screen all applicants and hire staff with specific qualities. This is especially true if your staff are directly dealing with customers. They’re your front line of defense, so make sure they’re fully aware of the rules and guidlines of how you operate your business.

If you don’t have guidelines, then get busy and put some together to ensure you and your staff are working together and make sure you enforce these guidelines. Confusion and guesswork are the most likely reasons a situation may arise that leads to a customer trying to take advantage of you. By eliminating any possible confusion and guesswork before it begins you’ll also eliminate areas of weakness where a customer can get the upper hand. If you’re working alone, then you only have yourself to hold to strict guidelines, but it’s still important to follow-up with your customers and be consistent.

Finally, the most effective way to avoid misunderstanding is to promote integrity and honesty with your clients. Build solid relationships with them based on truly listening. understanding and communicating. Do your best to be a model for the type of behavior you expect from your employees as well as customers. Create and develop an environment that clearly shows how much you value honesty and integrity. If you do this, there’ll be no excuse for anyone to try to bend the rules and those around you will most often follow your example.

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Glenn Cutforth is a writer and publisher of quality eBooks at MaxxPublishing.com who has worked from home since 1994. For more information on operating your Work From Home business, check out his website at: HomeBiz Advisor.info.

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