I fired a client yesterday!

**IMHO** · 22-Dec-12, 07:58 AM

Originally Posted by Blurock

One of Richard Branson's business principles: "The client is not always right".

So glad to see I am not alone!

Pastel has this nasty habit of quitting on you when you least expect it and that is the time one gets desperate !

So true of all accounting packages. TurboCash realised this and made their software free of charge. How do they make their money? By charging for service which they know must come!

**ians** · 22-Dec-12, 03:26 PM

Originally Posted by Blurock

One of Richard Branson's business principles: "The client is not always right".

i have experienced that first hand, even after a year of his company not being able to get his accounts department cleaned up and 3 months without a line, but hey i am just another number in his fortune. There are a lot more suckers like me for him to continue making billions.

**Justloadit** · 22-Dec-12, 03:29 PM

Originally Posted by Blurock

One of Richard Branson's business principles: "The client is not always right".

and I use this opportunity to tell the client so.

Your client is important, but not as a slave driver!

**Blurock** · 23-Dec-12, 07:20 AM

Originally Posted by Justloadit

and I use this opportunity to tell the client so.

Your client is important, but not as a slave driver!

Open communication and managing expectations is important. Do not allow the client to expect more than he pays for. Set boundaries and make it clear exactly what the service is and what can be expected. An SLA is a good document to have in ongoing service arrangements.

**Perform Computers** · 23-Dec-12, 01:54 PM

Neville you did the right thing. Let him get his cousin to do the work for free. These clients ALWAYS come back with the nerve of making a phone call & expecting you to give them a step-by-step instruction over the phone on how to resolve whatever issue they have.

Oh & they expect this for free too.

State your rates. If they can find it cheaper, then by all means, go ahead.

Charge what you're worth.

**Gemais** · 24-Dec-12, 09:18 AM

We run a family business and my son and I have learnt over the years the signs that a customer is going to be a problem. We agreed to not take on work from one company as we could see that it would cause headaches. The relief we felt was immense. My best one is the customer request "I would like quality at the lowest price".
I will show this thread to my husband as he still of the old school of never turn any business away.

**Phil Cooper** · 24-Dec-12, 11:59 AM

Groucho Marx:

The customer's ALWAYS right, my friend,
The customer's ALWAYS right.
The son-of-a-bitch may well be rich,
So smile with all your might!

**adrianh** · 24-Dec-12, 12:10 PM

@Phil - cool

....I need to learn to grin through clenched teeth with veins popping on my temples....

**Chrisjan B** · 24-Dec-12, 03:53 PM

It doesn't matter if the client is Bill Gates - if you're not paid he is worth nothing!
@adrianh - keep grinning and sent him on his merry way, it is not worth the dental bill and doctors visit...

**adrianh** · 24-Dec-12, 04:18 PM

I don't know, it's very hard to judge. Sometimes your worst customer becomes your best and sometimes your best customer your worst...people change and people are not always in a good mood.

I really speak for myself, I can be a right harda$$ when I'm in a k@k mood but I am fairly mellow on the whole. I've had some serious disagreements with service providers and I've been right and I've been wrong.

I suppose the only thing you can do is to make a judgement call and live with the consequences. The best is probably to keep your own nose clean. If you have to dump the customer then do so in such a way that the customer feels you are doing them a service...fluff covered bull$shit still baffles brains....