Firing a customer

When you're a small company, you're always on the lookout for revenue. Every customer is critical, and you want to do everything you can to keep every single one.

Up to a point.

One thing I have learned in many years of business is the importance of knowing when to fire a customer.

Ayrstone's customers, by and large, are some of the nicest people I have ever dealt with. It is truly a pleasure to work with them, and I truly feel bad when something doesn't go as it should. We all try to go out of our way to make things right

But, that said, there are always a few people who, for a variety of reasons, you really don't want to do business with, and it's a palpable relief to give them their money back and see them walk away. There have been a few of those over the last year, and I was reminded of them today when we got rid of another one.

This afternoon, just before 1, our support folks got a call from someone who wanted to return the product. The support person explained that we will provide an RMA within a day. This customer called them back half an hour later to ask where the RMA was. In the meantime she had sent us an email asking for the RMA, then another 20 minutes later, and a third thirty minutes after that emphasizing that she had been waiting for 3 DAYS for this.

I have a part-time helper goes through the support notes twice a day and sends RMA numbers as needed, and she responded just before 2 p.m., or about an hour after the first call.

I have seldom been happier to get rid of a customer; I'll be relieved when we refund her money.

Another customer, several months back, called and emailed several times a day over several days to ask questions about the product that were clearly covered in the installation instructions or the FAQ on the website. He decided there must be something wrong with the product, so we did an exchange. When the new product worked exactly the same as the "old" product, he asked what could be done. I told him (ever so sadly) that the only option was a refund, and that we were terribly sorry we couldn't help him.

There are customers who aren't worth having - some are too expensive, and some are just too needy or unpleasant to deal with.

Do you have customers you'd like to fire? Have you fired a customer?

It's a little scary, but a liberating experience.

Are you the kind of customer your vendors want to fire? As Dr. Phil likes to say, "How's that workin' out for you?"