Are your customers getting on your nerves?
How dare a customer actually try to buy from you!!
Recently in an online group, a lady was complaining that she had contacted a number of small businesses and yet they hadn’t responded. I can totally sympathise with this lady as I regularly get the same treatment.
Whilst a few agreed with her, there were far more comments from those that owned small businesses and went on the attack.
Comments included:
“When I’m contacted people don’t bear in mind I work over 40 hours, I can’t be on my phone all the time”
“I have a family, and a home to look after, and they come first!
I don’t always have the information to hand, like when I’m on the school run or swimming lessons and usually I’m too busy getting tea ready to respond to messages when I get home.”
“I’m behind on our emails but that’s because I’m so busy”
“I’ve got too much work to do to reply straight away, … oh and I also have a life! I can’t stand the beck and call attitude of some customers.”
“I haven’t had a day off in weeks”
Wow!!!! Really??
Do you feel like this?
Yes, we can all get frustrated by our clients at times but women with the attitude of these don’t deserve a business in my opinion.
After all, there are plenty of people out there desperate to have more customers contact them. These women are obviously irritated. How dare someone interrupt their life to try and place an order.
Running a home and a business whilst raising a family is difficult, but customers aren’t telepathic. They don’t know how busy you are and to be honest, why should they care. They have their money in their hand and they want to buy something.
If you’re too busy, they will just move on somewhere else, or perhaps not.
Perhaps if the customer was treated with a little common courtesy they may wait until you are less busy. A simple holding email letting them know when you will be able to respond firstly acknowledges their enquiry, and secondly sets their expectations for when they will be responded to in full.
If you are running around like a headless chicken with a ‘woe is me’ attitude, sort yourself out. Take a look at your business from a customer’s point of view. Get in the right mindset of a successful business owner and change your attitude. Streamline your business. Cut the crap and work on effective systems. Set expectations with customers through your website and autoresponders in busy periods.
Remember, the customer is in control of your business success, not you. He can fire you by simply taking his business elsewhere.
I can hear the keyboards tapping away already, so go on, use the comments box and let me know your thoughts.
