PPB January 2018

C ustomers are the lifeblood of businesses—they are the reason we are able to post revenues and provide jobs for our employees. Without themwe would be out of business. Keeping them happy and coming back is a priority. Many of us have been taught to always give the customer the benefit of the doubt when problems arise and to do whatever it takes to resolve the problem in the customer’s favor. But is the customer always right? Many of us have also observed customers whose dysfunctional, thoughtless or abusive behavior caused problems for our businesses. Misbehavior is typically defined as actions by customers who take advantage of the situation to violate accepted norms and practices. In my experience, jobs such as telephone customer service, customer support and specialized customer support such as tracking lost shipments, by their nature, present opportunities for customers to engage in negative conduct. There are five types of customers whose behavior is cause for concern. • The verbal abuser behaves in an offensive and disrespectful manner toward employees, regardless of the situation or perceived slight. In layman’s terms, these customers might be regarded as ones who are just looking for a fight. • The blamer is an individual who will always put the blame on someone else—your business, for example—and will never accept responsibility for their role in the situation. • The rule breaker is a customer who consistently ignores policies and procedures that they consider When Customers Behave Badly Suppliers and distributors are all too familiar with difficult customers. Here’s how to identify and manage them. By D. Alan Christopher, MAS 22 | JANUARY 2018 | INNOVATE