We've all had customers that were just a pain; they never seem to be satisfied, they take more time than is worth the amount they've spent. Jennifer Cox, Administrator of NNEP, shares the story of how one business handled those "pain in the neck" customers:
Back when we had our retail business, we occasionally worked with some very unpleasant customers. Every year in December, we had a staff meeting where EVERY employee was able to name their 3 least favorite customers/jobs/situations from that year.
As management, we then sent each of the top 5 vote getters a "dear John" letter, indicating that in the following year, their prices would be $X (at least a 15% price increase). We hoped to work with them again, or we were happy to provide the information they would need elsewhere. Most of the customers stayed, their behavior improved immensely, and we felt we were being compensated much more in line with the demands placed upon us by that particular customer.
We dubbed it the "HFF," Hassle Factor Fee. Any customers that created a hassle with constant changes, complaints, lack of timely response, poorly provided information, rudeness, slow payment, etc. were flagged for HFF pricing if they ever returned for another order. Most of them did return, and paid a higher fee, although they never knew the specific reason. In fact, one customer become one of our largest and most preferred clients, once they settled into a pleasant relationship with our company, and earned back better pricing.
The best part of the story is the fact that these pains actually straighten up and become valued customers! So if it costs more, is it worth being nicer?
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