From time to time, a business or independent contractor find themselves in the unusual position of firing a customer. This is a relatively uncommon occurrence and is usually seen as something of a strange role reversal. However, the ability to cut ties with a customer is a crucial ability to have, particularly for contractors or small business owners.
Yes, you can fire a customer and your business prosperity can depend on it. If a customer is unbearably difficult or clearly trying to take advantage of you, there’s no shame in refusing to provide services to them anymore. Ultimately, this decision will protect your sanity and your business.
How does an HVAC technician handle firing a customer? Learn how to handle this important decision here. Click To Tweet
How to Know When a Customer Needs to Be Fired
Many customers are finicky, and some are just downright hard to work with. However, it’s not impossible to work with finicky or difficult customers. After all, they still pay you just like the good customers do.
However, there are some customers who are past finicky and difficult and are impossible to work for. This customer will seek you out just to take as much as they can from you in time and expertise, but will never pay you a dime. They generally start the process by telling you how many projects they might have for you once they get this one resolved. This only thing they want is to somehow get you to fix their system for free. In the business world, these kinds of customers are known as “tire kickers”, after people who waste a car salesman’s time by kicking the tires of every car in the lot without actually buying one.
Pro Tip: Anyone who hires you for HVAC work with the promise of dozens of future jobs is just as dishonest as someone who offers to pay an artist in “exposure”. They just want free labor from you–don’t give it to them!
Firing a Customer
Learn how to identify these bad customers sooner rather than later and fire them. Usually, this is done by giving them a price and refuse to work until a check is in your hands. Other times it requires telling them you will not work for them. In extreme cases, it might just mean blocking their number and forgetting about them.
Don’t Be Fooled
Some of the persistent, impossible customers just don’t understand the concept of being fired. Train yourself to not get caught in a tire kicker’s web of promised future work. If you suspect a customer may be a tire kicker, ask for payment or a deposit upfront and see how they react. If your instincts are correct and they’re just wasting your time, fire the customer immediately. Don’t give them time to fool you anymore.
Terminating the Relationship with a Customer
As an HVAC technician, train yourself to distinguish between a difficult customer, a client having a bad day, and a tire kicker. Additionally, remember there’s no shame in refusing to offer services to a particular client because of their behavior. Just make sure you know when to cut ties with a bad customer and how to handle the situation professionally.
Connect with us to learn more about customer relations in the HVAC field.