Hello Mike,

I run a local restaurant franchise here in the Philippines.  With food, anything and everything is subject to customer compliments and/or criticisms (i.e. food, service, hygiene, cleanliness, etc.).  We get a few complaints, but I always worry about the customer ever coming back.  Some of them tend to be abusive and unreasonable even if we bend over backwards to accommodate them the best we can.
This article provides great perspective.  Unlike some businesses where you get to choose your clientele, restaurants have to accept and accommodate who walks through the front door.  I believe the margin of error is so small in this business that one really has to set the customer service standards high in order to avoid complaints and customer churn.  I’d like to believe that higher standards will yield less complaints; there are just out-of-the-box customer experiences that you cannot completely avoid, rather learn from.  Great advice and great article.

Thanks for the insights Scott. 

Thanks Michael – well said.

Thanks Poul – my pleasure.

Thanks for helping me out…

A couple of years before i came across a similar article that said a pleased (NOT simply satisfied) client will refer a maximum of 8 people while a dissatisfied one will prevent 21 people. The numbers may be different (statistics always are :)) but the point still stands.

and to add to your thoughts, bad clients don’t show up instantly (as you’ve said), they simply hatch when you create a ‘favorable’ environment. If you happen to reach that “squeaky” point, continuing serving that client is a two edge sword because you’ll always end up with a ‘dissatisfied’ & ‘always expecting more’ client that somehow is “doing you a favor, doing business” with you.

I never did understand the hidden mechanics behind this but if you continue trying to indulge the ‘bad’ client he will most certainly and 100% start smearing your company name any chance he gets. In the end he will have dragged your precious name through the gutter and the ugly part is that he will have, or to be more precise, YOU will have given him more than enough experience working with you to actually fabricate believable facts to back his claims.

The point? You’ve got more than enough ‘bad’ competitors to do the smearing so don’t add your clients to that list. Don’t do favors to clients. The good client will never, NEVER ask for favors. If you do happen to go that way, make sure that you quickly rectify (actually murder) any strange ideas the client gets. If he is unwilling to let go, and doesn’t understand that this threatens your relation, ditch him. It maybe hard to do so, it may cost you but in the long run, it’s the safest bet.

Hi William:

Thanks for stopping by, and best wishes in 2012 Sir. 

There is to be balance in the marketplace…companies providing value, customers having needs met. When that moves out of balance, things are amiss.

Thanks for candidly addressing a subject that has become somewhat taboo. Especially in a challenging economy.