Is Life Too Short To Deal With Unpleasant Customers

Writen by Dr. Gary S. Goodman

One of best clients I ever had was a senior vice president at a financial company.

He didn't beat around the bush. If I asked him, how much of a budget do you have for this, he'd tell me, right away, down to the penny.

One day, we were talking and he told me, "Gary, life's too short to deal with unpleasant people."

There are certain lines, such as this one, that you hear that stick with you. Immediately, I wondered if this fellow had been able to chart a course in business that enabled him to navigate around the difficult customers, some of which seemed to have a home in my portfolio.

Then, I had a second reaction. Who can afford to be so choosy that he can toss out angry, difficult, or negative personalities? Aren't they everywhere?

Then, it hit me.

His company was distinctive, and his clientele was somewhat exclusive. Their profit margins were wide, and there was nothing but smooth sailing on the horizon.

They didn't have to worry much about customers stampeding away, because he was in a seller's market, what is called an ecological niche, a protected area to feed, without predators or substantial risks.

If there's any lesson in his situation, it's this: If you're calling the shots, you have a lock on a market, or an incredibly stable portfolio of clients, and others are politely and persistently trying to join them, well, lucky you!

Enjoy it, be choosy, and toss out the misfits.

But if you're non-distinctive, you're in a mature industry with plenty of competitors, you're facing escalating costs or shrinking margins, you have to make a specialty out of dealing with unpleasant customers.

If you can't change them, you simply have to change yourself, or at least your communication abilities, until you can create a product breakthrough or a process innovation that will enable you to stand alone on the high ground of exclusivity, again.

Dr. Gary S. Goodman, President of Customersatisfaction.com, is a popular keynote speaker, management consultant, and seminar leader and the best-selling author of 12 books, including Reach Out & Sell Someone® and Monitoring, Measuring & Managing Customer Service, and the audio program, "The Law of Large Numbers: How To Make Success Inevitable," published by Nightingale-Conant. He is a frequent guest on radio and television, worldwide. A Ph.D. from USC's Annenberg School, Gary offers programs through UCLA Extension and numerous universities, trade associations, and other organizations in the United States and abroad. He is headquartered in Glendale, California, and he can be reached at (818) 243-7338 or at: gary@customersatisfaction.com.