06.22.09
The customer is NOT always right!
I know this, because there is even a great website that says so http://notalwaysright.com/ sent to me kindly by Derek Jenkins (http://twitter.com/ozdj/), so that could be the end of the argument! However as you can no doubt guess, I have some points to make and questions to pose (not to mention a #badclient hashtag to launch). So lets start with some parameters …
The Playing Field
I am going to use ‘client’ rather than customer, mostly because I am talking principally about the customers of professional service organisations. I believe what follows can apply to most customers and your comments can bear this out.
Secondly, I am talking about ethical and professional organizations. We have all needed to escalate something to a manager. We have all encountered poor professional service. We have all had communication failings - often two sided. I am not exploring these aspects and as a result, and for the purpose of the argument, I am discussing goods and services provided to industry standard, both professionally and ethically.
Finally, I am not anti-client. In fact the oposite is true, the adage “the client is always right” makes for good client service philosophy because at the very least, the client is crucial, knows their business and is the lifeblood of any commercial organization. They should be respected, heard, courted, valued and ultimately the recipient of something of significant value. There is however such a thing as a #badclient …
Some Bad Client Signals
No mandate - Usually the provision of a service involves the client adopting the service and as a result some level of change. Humans generally accept change poorly. When a client does not actually want the value that flows from a service, there is no capacity for the service to deliver a benefit. This can include services not properly commissioned, services rejected by gatekeepers and my favorite because of the irony: Pro bono services accepted by charitable clients because they are come free of charge, delivered in circumstances where they are not needed or cannot be used by the client.
No respect - The client who thinks they know better. Once the work starts (and often before), this client will give a level of instruction or embark on an ego trip because they believe their knowledge is superior to that of the supplier. In my game, this is the client who wants to tell me how to build a web CMS system after scoping their organization’s needs, without understanding that we have put more than a decade into understanding best practice in this field (enough self indulgence). Of course the supplier who thinks they know their clients business better than their client is also deluding themselves but as mentioned, we are not focussing on the supply side here.
No value - In this case, the client does not value the service enough to cover the cost of there provision. It may be a case of ‘bad-fit’, where the offering simply does not produce enough incremental value for the client to benefit more than the provisioning cost. However the truly BAD CLIENT gets plenty of value but still will not transfer any of this to the supplier. If you break this down, it amounts to their belief that they can build a sustainable profitable business but you shouldn’t be able to. A good client realises that a symbiotic relationship of mutual benefit and enlightended self-interest is much better for both parties.
Narcissism -this is really the trigger for this post and I am silent on the culprit that pushed me over the edge. This client has no empathy for you (the supplier) or any other client. Give away signs: (1) deliberately sowing internal discontent by playing supplier staff off against each other, (2) never agreeing that services have been completed or properly provided, (3) every communication is a complaint and there is never a recognition of value provided, (4) services are expected to be prioritized ahead of any other client, (5) the client believes that they are the creator of all intellectual property and nothing, even IP developed for other clients, should belong to anyone but them, and (6) other blatantly manipulative behaviour. Yes, I have encountered client narcissim to this extent and I am interested in stories you may have (no names).
Too Late?
Hanging on to these relationships is false economy. A client who exhibits one or more of the above signals as a standard mode of operation is preventing you from servicing your good clients properly. They are inflating your delivery costs. They are demoralizing your staff. They are sending negative signals to the market. They will not stop and if the cancer gets bad enough they will sink you because at the very least you will loose competitive advantage. So why persevere, is it because your organization accepts the claim that ‘the client is always right’? Will you believe them over your quality staff? It is not too late, let them go and you will be transformed for the better, you may even find your other clients and your staff thank you. Please don’t send them to me 
Some Early Questions
I have been working in solution sales for longer than I care to admit. When I hear “we are commissioning you because our last supplier was no good”, I still take this on face value and make the stock standard commitment that we will perform better. In reality, there has got to be an even-money chance that at least equal fault lies with the new client as it does with their former supplier. In this case, perhaps it is prudent to explore your prospect with a bit more attention. It is possible to end up with a worse outcome than failing to win a piece of business.
Why not a client credit check looking for payment history? Why not ask to speak to other suppliers? Does the client exhibit early examples of a lack of respect, lack of value, lack of operational mandate and perhaps most of all excessive self importance. Maybe do what my Grandmother suggested, take them to lunch and see how they treat people who have no power in a transactional relationship. Be warned, I will never again work for a client who tries to impress me by treating waiting staff poorly.
Please tell me what I have missed, your experiences and horror stories. Remember I am not defending suppliers, there are plenty of substandard service moments, I have experienced a bunch of them myself in just the last few days.
My premise is that if you forget the customer you will fail, however as with any relationship, no party is always right. QED - The customer is NOT always right.
Join me on Twitter @drwarwick - http://twitter.com/drwarwick. Maybe we can even start an ongoing conversation - hash tag: #badclient however no doubt a tag #badsupplier would be more successful
Thanks for your attention and in advance for your input.
Cheers and regards,
David Warwick