So, how do you handle your PIA (Pain In the Ass) clients?
We have recently noticed that any client that refers to herself as Mrs. John Q Piffelton III, it seems is always a PIA, especially if Mr. John Q Piffelton has been deceased for years, you are going to have your handsful.
Here's my issue-
We offer a 100% Money Back Guarantee as I'm sure many of you do (no I don't find people take advantage of it, it may help that we get all of our jobs by referral). So if we do work for a client that we will in all likelihood NOT satisfy no matter what, why would I want to take the job knowing full well going in that she will not allow herself to be satisfied ?
So how do you let her down easy ?
Yes, it would be nice to do the job and satisfy her, for some kind of feather in my cap, (remember the point of being in business is- to profit from it, not to make yourself feel good besides no one will take a feather as a form of payment on a bill will they?) but I am talking about a client with totally unrealistic expectations of not only what she should expect from us, but from life.
What good does it do to bust your ass for hours at her house only to have her call you and complain, or, "let you know about something" that no other client would have ever possibly noticed. As a rule if she has already been deemed a PIA before we even clean for her (we will mark the file as such) if/when she does call to complain we promptly offer a total refund- without question - just to be rid of her (obviously we will not service her again). Note I didn't say she was unjustified, she paid good money & she expects good service, fine, but perfection, no my dear, the only man who was ever perfect got crucified for it over 2000 years ago.
I just wonder how those of you that offer such a guarantee handle Mrs. John Q Piffelton III .
We have recently noticed that any client that refers to herself as Mrs. John Q Piffelton III, it seems is always a PIA, especially if Mr. John Q Piffelton has been deceased for years, you are going to have your handsful.
Here's my issue-
We offer a 100% Money Back Guarantee as I'm sure many of you do (no I don't find people take advantage of it, it may help that we get all of our jobs by referral). So if we do work for a client that we will in all likelihood NOT satisfy no matter what, why would I want to take the job knowing full well going in that she will not allow herself to be satisfied ?
So how do you let her down easy ?
Yes, it would be nice to do the job and satisfy her, for some kind of feather in my cap, (remember the point of being in business is- to profit from it, not to make yourself feel good besides no one will take a feather as a form of payment on a bill will they?) but I am talking about a client with totally unrealistic expectations of not only what she should expect from us, but from life.
What good does it do to bust your ass for hours at her house only to have her call you and complain, or, "let you know about something" that no other client would have ever possibly noticed. As a rule if she has already been deemed a PIA before we even clean for her (we will mark the file as such) if/when she does call to complain we promptly offer a total refund- without question - just to be rid of her (obviously we will not service her again). Note I didn't say she was unjustified, she paid good money & she expects good service, fine, but perfection, no my dear, the only man who was ever perfect got crucified for it over 2000 years ago.
I just wonder how those of you that offer such a guarantee handle Mrs. John Q Piffelton III .