A customer from the Austin area just called me and asked if there is a product that can be put on windows to simply dissolve “crud” off windows. I said, there is no solution that I sell to simply put on windows that will dissolve “crud”. (34 seconds into the conversation) This guy immediately lost him mind and called me EVERY name under the sun and screamed at me for the duration of the 6 minute conversation
I remained 100% calm the whole time and let the now ex customer vent and scream his little brain out and then told him to have a good weekend.
I’m not mad or that annoyed, I’m just assuming he had a bad day… But a big part of me thinks he reacts this way pretty often.
The funniest thing he said was that he was going to start a website called "alex from window cleaning .com _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ " . I chuckled to myself.
How many of you have had this recently or in the past? How did you react and handle yourself? Would you ever sell or service a customer like this again?
Just let it roll off your back, it not worth fretting over like the song by Ricky Nelson says, “Went To a Garden Party”, You can’t please everyone and trying to you can’t please everyone so please yourself and those who respect you Brother ! Just keep being as you were to this fellow it only shows your character and what you do to other will only come back to you !
Perhaps he thought straight away you should know what it would be - something like “550.” I’d second guess at bad-day as well. I think you might have tipped the trip switch.
i blurted this out to an agitated customer many years ago, and it worked so well, i’ve used it since: “did you call me to get answers to your questions, or did you just call me to vent? i’m fine either way, i just wanna know how you want me to respond.”
Wow, what an azz. Good thing you stayed calm. I haven’t had something like that happen to me yet but if it does happen there are two ways I could react depending on if I’m having a good or bad day.
I would either f them off and hang up or I would stay calm and offer to come out and clean their Windows to help them feel better (i would charge them of course).
I bet he feels like an a** right about now if he has any decency. He was probably having a bad day. You did the right thing by staying calm Alex.
I don’t get reamed out often, but the times when I have it generally is for stuff I have no control over. I would say once every couple years I lose or fire a customer. I will not service them again. I remember a situation 5 years ago when I was working full time, in my last semester of college, and raising my daughter on my own. A nice, long time client called and wanted her work done within a week. I had a month long wait and told her the situation. In the end she screamed at me for a few minutes, told me she would ruin my rep, said she didn’t care about my “family problems” (not having time to do her windows cause I had to make time for my daughter). I cried like a girl(it was a very stressful time in my life) but learned a valuable lesson about letting go. Up til then I felt like customers were like family because they treated me like family. Now I know that a customer is a customer. I let them go when I need to…though never as soon as I should. That kind of negativity is life sucking, and there’s enough stress in this world already. Honestly, the fact that you give as much of yourself as you do, I am amazed you aren’t sucked dry. Your doing a better than good job
I’m glad I stayed calm, I’m a pretty level headed guy. I didn’t want to hang up because I really wanted him to get it all out of his system so I could get a word in… Alas, he hung up around 6min 38sec.
This is the first time this has happened to me since we opened WCR. I’ve had a handful of angry customers but nothing like this.
Hate that. I haven’t had a customer do this but when hanging fliers door to door, the company I hired to hang them put a flier on a door that had a small sign “No Solicitors” . This guy called me a reamed me out using every swear word I have ever heard and then some. I stayed calm till he said he was going to have me arrested. I lost it a little, and said, “Go ahead call the cops”. I calmed down, told him to have a nice day and hung up on him. He probably had a bad day as well and the flier was the last straw. As a retired police officer, I know that I broke no law and he couldn’t have me arrested, I just had to set him right.
I’m always MORE than happy to pepper someone with some colorful vocab especially if they are screaming at me until my adrenaline spikes. However, it obviously doesn’t promote peace or goodwill in a situation regarding your business. Taking it for 6 min is about 5 min too long - I would have said when you’re calm call me back nothing is going to get resolved by screaming at me and politely end the call.
I have had clients call me and tell me we did something the year before for them at no charge. In a couple situations when I have looked up their account and found that they are “misremembering” what we did for them (with their paperwork in hand to prove it with their signature) they have lost it on me. Once it happened while a crew was in the middle of the job. The woman got so heated she said this was the last time we would be doing the windows at her house. I told her why wait, whatever is done is all we’re going to do. I called my crew leader with another phone and told him to throw the storm windows in and leave the job. I fired her on the spot.
Now when my office manager is going around and around with a potential client to get a job and the person is extremely difficult I fire them before we even get the job - I have been in the business for almost 10 years, I can see the writing on the wall.
No one needs terrible clients like that.
I wouldn’t sell another product to the guy who cursed you out for 6 min. It’s just a matter of time before he does it again.
There is such a thing as an irrational customer that just wants to give you some abuse.
There is no more to it than that. It doesn’t happen too often but it can happen.
If that happens I don’t think it is necessary to spend a lot of time being abused for nothing.
Why should they get their problem off their chest by dumping it on you? Let them keep it.
I agree that you did good not to respond to it, but I think the problem should stay with them.
I would dump the conversation unless it made some sense. If I caused the problem, that is different.
Good job Alex! Even your attitude after the fact is great.
I have been cursed out, hard to remain calm inside though I may keep it together out.
No I would not service that customer again. No way, no how. See ya!
Once the customer has crossed the line, either by screaming and yelling, swearing or whatever I would have hung up. I know in my mind I wouldn’t service them anymore, the relationship is no longer productive.
The funniest thing he said was that he was going to start a website called "alex from window cleaning .com _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ " . I chuckled to myself.
Don’t worry Alex, I already own that domain Seriously though, that guy must be having a really bad day.
Hey Alex,
Sorry to hear about your conversation. In the business we all have to deal with idiots at times. It is hard to believe someone could be irritated with someone like you who is so easy going, generous with their time(and knowledge), and willing to do whatever it takes to please the customer. I am especially happy to hear he will have a website, would be deserving for him to get the less desired but “earned” reviews & feed back when his business is Googled. Your a great guy man, don’t change and thanks for all you do.
One positive thing is this is the first time it happened. If it were to happen again you may want to play this recording near the beginning of the call.
[B][SIZE=“2”]This call is being recorded for training purposes.[/SIZE][/B]
I’m surprised how many times I hear on this forum about people firing their customers because they yelled at them or something. I love difficult customers…sometimes. Most of the time when people go off on me it’s not really me they are mad at. They are usually just stressed about the party or open house they are about to have and just need to vent. If I handle the situation professionally, without yelling back at them, or hanging up on them, most of the time at some point they realize they are being jerks and apologize to me. Sometimes they don’t, but they usually call me back the next year. Some of my most regular and best customers were the most difficult customers at one time.
I’m guessing that the ones I hear of that will fire their customers at the drop of a hat just take things too personally. Or maybe I was used to being yelled at as a kid so much it doesn’t really phase me. Haha.
