Meet Mr. Know-It-All, Mrs. Direct and two more of the toughest customers. We’ve included practical tips on how to deal with them.
You’ll likely hear from one of these characters today. The good news: You can satisfy them and keep them loyal to your company!
- Mr. Know-It-All. He likes to tell you what to do because, well, he knows how to do everything. You might wonder, “Why did he bother contacting me?” Usually, he just wants to justify what he was thinking. To help him: Compliment him on his good ideas, back up your solutions and answers with hard facts. Don’t contradict him.
- Mrs. Direct. She doesn’t like small talk or any kind of talk outside of business. She wants her issues and questions taken care of immediately – if not yesterday before other, deserving customers. To help her: Avoid small talk. Refer to past interactions only to confirm something related to the current situation. Keep salutations short.
- Mr. Love. He wants to be included in everything. Business is usually the last thing on his list. Although he may be nice to deal with, he can derail any conversation and may not actually contribute much to the bottom line. To help him: Be friendly, but don’t be friends. Keep him focused by moving the conversation along with comments such as, “I’m glad you shared that. Now let me make sure I covered everything you need,” “Don’t let me hold you up any longer,” or ” Let’s get back to business so you can get on with your busy day.”
- Ms. Never-satisfied. Her name says it all. You can do a circus act to please her and she’ll want a Las Vegas show. To help her: Remind her of what she requested and what you did to fulfill that need – plus, anything extra that you did or will do for her.
