Get Rid of Bad Customers (Part I)
In America, we have the saying "The customer is always right." This is true except when the customer is wrong. While customer service is obviously important for maintaining a business, it should not necessarily be the top priority. Sometimes, you have to be able to fire your customers.
Your employees should come before your customers. If a customer is bothering your employees to the point that it is making them miserable and affecting their work, you need to cut that customer off. Customers who are loud and aggressive will also frighten away other customers, thus hurting your business.
Other customers may simply not be profitable. Get rid of the customers who require three notices before paying their bills. It may be less obvious with other customers that they are not profitable. Sometimes, the amount of time you and your staff spend helping them is worth more than what they are paying you. Either modify your arrangement, or drop them.
Comments
As an online retailer working to NOT attract every free email bobblehead on the planet, it must be said there's an entire generation of conscience-less Entitlists using the internet to bully and terrorize on a DAILY basis. Online merchants are battling the worst customer behaviors in history, and there is no way to sugar coat it. Not profitable? It's an ongoing battle to just to shield small business from random attacks against reputations and assets by a steady stream of spoiled anti-social customers. Sorry, but it's a new age and merchants need tougher support than this.