Many successful professionals occasionally have to work with difficult clients.
Since the client is your source of income, it can be difficult to not to get them upset which could lead to a loss of business and your reputation.
The most important thing I feel anyone should do is to learn how to protect themselves.
The law of averages state that if you work in the customer service field that sooner or later you will work with a difficult client and/or get a bad testimonial from somebody.
Its 100 percent impossible to please everybody regardless how good you may be or how many awards you may have won.
With this knowledge, I recommend that a person develops a good reputation in their field so that one bad customer doesn’t ruin your business.
Develop a strong network of satisfied customers and learn to find ways to enhance your public relations BEFORE you start dealing with difficult customers.
The last thing any business person wants to happen is to have one disgruntled client ruin the last 15 years of your successful business.
I believe that you should always put everything in writing.
Misunderstandings will happen and expectations will not always be met. In dealing with anybody, put everything down in writing. This will save you a lot of money and heartache.
I believe that you need to be sincere and caring all the time and not just when your in the public eye.
People can tell when someone is truly honest and caring. A person should not do anything that they wouldn’t want to become public. If problems do arise from your clients, people will always side with the honest and sincere person.
Talk to the person who is giving you a hard time.
Explain to the person what the problem is and ask him or her for some suggestions on solving the problem. Sometimes, your clients might not realize what they are doing. Ask them nicely if you can do anything differently.
Always look at your current problem through your customer’s eyes. You might be surprised at what you see. In addition, talk to a professional counselor on what you can do to manage your stresses and frustrations.
Finally, enlist the services of your other employees who could maybe help you out. The key is to be flexible and understanding when dealing with difficult people.
Stan Popovich is a contributing blogger for JenningsWire.