The Corporate Couch – Worn Out

Dear Dr. Mimi:

Is the customer always right? We have a particular client whom we just can’t seem to please. They are the only customers who constantly complain, and it is wearing on my employees. This is a large contract, and I would hate to lose it. However, I have had one employee quit over this client. What should I do?

-Worn Out

Dear Worn Out:

Instead of customer service, I prefer the term customer management. It’s estimated that as many as 90 percent of customers who perceive themselves as having been wronged never complain, they just take their business elsewhere. So angry, complaining customers care enough to talk to you and have not yet decided to take their business to the competition. Meet with them and tell them that their complaints do not seem valid and that it does not seem that you can satisfy them. You want to keep their business, but if they continue to complain and cause dissension, they will need to take their business elsewhere. Eight out of 10 times they will beg you to keep them! However, know that there are some customers who are simply not worth the effort it takes to deal with them.

-Dr. Mimi

Dr. Mimi Hull is a licensed psychologist, she has a master’s in counseling and personnel services and a doctorate in psychology with specialization in business management from the University of Florida.