Pulling the Plug: How to Deal with a Toxic Client
My very first introduction to customer service came at age sixteen, when I was hired as a Sales Associate at a popular clothing store at my local outlet mall. I clearly remember sitting in the dingy, warehouse-like back room of the store with a few of my peers during a painfully boring orientation. The store manager was in the midst of drilling us about the company’s service policies and culture. The first rule we were instructed to remember was that “The customer is always right.” Suddenly, I was paying attention during orientation.
As a teenager who liked to talk back, my parents had assured me over and over again that no one was ever “always right”— least of all myself. My first job asked me to turn what I knew on its head. When a loud, obnoxious customer asserted that a certain item was on sale, when I knew it wasn’t, I stayed tight-lipped. When children destroyed a painstakingly-folded shirt display, I couldn’t ask their parents to control them. And when I offered my assistance to a customer, only to be ignored or scoffed at, I could only smile and walk away.
Of course, excellent treatment of your customer or client should be the goal of any organization. I didn’t think that my employer was wrong in catering to their customers. But catering to your customers to the point that your employees feel mistreated and undervalued? That, I didn’t like. For better or worse, our customer service-oriented culture often produces clients that are particularly difficult to work with, but work with them you must. Read on to learn how to deal with a few different kinds of toxic clients, without putting your career at risk.
The Overly Demanding Client
Perhaps you’re suffering a client who calls at all hours of the day and night, who berates you with emails, or who acts as if you only work for them. When handling a client who doesn’t respect your time or workload, it’s critical to set communication guidelines and boundaries. Make it clear through a polite phone call or email what your working hours are, and stick to them. Turn off your iPhone or Blackberry in the evenings so you won’t be tempted to respond to their emails, and make a point not to answer calls after your work hours have ended.
If the client respects your working hours, but still demands more work from you than your other clients, be sure to set deadlines and expectations with your client. Promise them that a certain project or need will be fulfilled by a date or time that you feel comfortable with, and don’t budge. Allowing an overly demanding client to set their own timeline, regardless of your schedule and demands, allows them all the power in the relationship. Keep the power on your side of the field by setting reasonable expectations and consistently meeting them.
The Wishy-Washy Client
Maybe you’re a graphic designer in an ad agency, and you’re dealing with a client who changes their mind about a particular slogan or design every other day. Their constant inability to make up their minds creates more work for you, as you have to re-work or redo a certain project each time they call.
Again, when working with a client who can’t get their facts or ideas straight, it’s important to set deadlines. Tell them that it’s perfectly fine if their ideas evolve or change, but that after a certain date, you can no longer make changes. Or, simply set a policy that no work will begin until their vision is final. Explain that this is an expectation made of all clients, to streamline work and to make the most of your time. Most clients will understand your desire to maintain maximum efficiency.
The Client With the Nasty Attitude
Some clients may respect your time and not demand more than what’s reasonable from you, but that doesn’t mean that they’ll communicate their needs in a pleasant fashion. Maybe they act as if you’re beneath them, since you work for them, after all. Or perhaps they never express appreciation or gratitude for the hard work you do for them on a regular basis.
No matter what kind of bad attitude or nastiness you may be encountering, it’s important to remember to remain professional, civil and calm. A snappy tone or a nasty return email won’t get you very far. In fact, the client may very well report you to your superiors if they feel (however ironically) “mistreated.”
To improve communication as best you can, learn who your best point of contact is. Does your client have multiple people with whom you could communicate? Is one of them easier to get along with than another? Try to work things in your favor by dealing with the person you find most easy to work with.
If you’re stuck with only one point of contact, learn which way is the easiest way to communicate with them. Are they terse and dismissive in emails? Try communicating over the phone. If an in-person meeting is possible, schedule them every once in a while, even if they aren’t exactly necessary. This way, they’ll be witness to exactly how charming, professional and easy to work with you are…and may tone down their attitude in the future. Taking them out to lunch or treating them to some light refreshments during your meeting may also go a surprisingly long way in achieving good will.
Don’t Be Afraid to Pass the Buck
If none of your strategies or coping mechanisms is working, it’s not wrong to alert your boss or superiors to the situation. It’s critical, however, to communicate your grievances in a way that doesn’t seem accusatory, vindictive, or whiney.
Complaining that “this organization is awful to work with!” or “they treat me so badly and they’re always so mean!” will sound child-like and unprofessional, no matter how true your statement is. If, on the other hand, you tell your boss that “I’d like your guidance in communicating with this organization. They frequently contact me outside of our working hours, and are often unprofessional in their communication. I want this client to be happy, but I feel unsure of how to meet their needs while not be disrespected” you will sound as cool as a cucumber (and far more than rational than one).
Ultimately, most superiors will be glad to advocate on their employees’ behalf, so long that it’s evident that their employee has strived to maintain a good working relationship with the client. So it behooves you, of course, to make sure that the client can’t make throw any unsavory accusations your way!
You May Be Better Off Without
Sure, clients help us get the bills paid, but to what end? Constantly sacrificing of your time, energy, and emotions may not be worth what your client is paying. If you have the power to drop a client whose toxicity is pervasive and ever-present, don’t be afraid to pull the plug. You’ll show the client that you refuse to be disrespected, and perhaps show future prospects what you will and will not tolerate. Standing up for yourself, in whatever way you think best, will never prove to be a wrong decision.
