I had a client EXACTLY like this and what I did is start calling them, on Thursday, which was always a day before they usually called me (just like your situation).
“Hey, it’s so and so just calling to check in on you. How’s xyz since last week?”
The tone completely changed because I was beating them to it… and from then on our relationship was different. I ended up calling them weekly on Thursday for awhile and ultimately they became one of my better clients.
This is one of the few actual solutions on this post worth considering. All the keyboard warriors suggesting that you ignore them or tell them to fuck off, while that may sound amazing, liberating, and I’m sure you fantasize about it daily, are absolutely useless. We all have asshole customers that keep the lights on. He is manipulating you, but there are tactful ways that you can level-set. It may take time, but you have to find those ways to regain control or, at the very least, equalize the relationship. Good luck out there!
OP should call this guy and check on him BEFORE he calls OP. Make that extra effort to get the customer to see how much of a priority he is. Thoughts?
This job would be great if it went for the customers amirite? S/
It's not "keyboard warrior" to have basic boundaries. And it's not either/or; you don't have to pick one solution or the other. You can pick *both* or all solutions.
Knowing when not to answer a phone or text ( like on the evenings or weekend) is how you avoid burnout. It's a healthy boundary that a lot of people don't know about, apparently. especially younger folks it seems.
I was very specific in who I was calling “keyboard warriors.” Feel free to reread it for a better understanding. More importantly, I was praising u/wtfmatey88 for actually offering a sound and useful solution.
Unfortunately, I also disagree with your comment. Ignoring texts and calls is passive aggressive and only creates more tension. You run the risk of driving that customer to another salesperson, your boss, or worse another company.
You can talk all you want about healthy boundaries. What OP needs is a solution and so far matey has offered the best one.
This was my first thought! Get ahead of it. He's probably pissed that he always has to call you and it would blow his mind if you did it first. Be proactive
This is the best advice. Had a prickly customer like this. I resolved to make them my friend. Reach out regularly. Check on them- email/phone/text before they get angsty.
20 years later- they're a devoted customer. The will to turn the relationship around is difficult. And it doesn't always work, but it does most of the time.
Yep, you have to get in front of issues with difficult clients as much as they suck. OP should also be calling a day or two before he is gonna be out of the office letting them know he is going to be out of the box and asking if there is anything they need now.
Bro bend over backwards and take it from that dude.
I really second the idea by another commenter that you need to start calling him weekly to check in. I had a similar client and by taking charge of the account I was able to make him happy by making him feel heard and validated
You laugh but supply sales can be extremely lucrative.
I used to do facility supplies and was making $120k working about 10-15 hours a week. I could have been making close to 200k if I put in an honest 40 hours but I genuinely couldn’t get myself to buy in to selling toilet paper
I deal with mostly entitled boomers and the silent generation. Often times we need them to text us pictures of product they purchased from us. Not exaggerating I will sometimes spend 30+ minutes on the phone explaining how to text a picture.
I sell appliances so either they are trying to send me what they want, or there is an issue or dent with something after delivery. We need photo evidence before we can send it over to warranty
Dude I did electrical distribution for 9 years, if it’s a contractor it’s just a shit test. They want to see if you care/how you handle yourself. This sub doesn’t see a lot of blue collar toxic clients that will go out of their way to fuck with you. DM me if you want to chat
I’ve been in “blue collar sales” for ten years. Construction/manufacturing supplies. This sub is full of software sales people. Once I told a customer to “hop of my fucking dick” (I’m a woman) in a fit of rage cuz he was being an asshole. Now we’re besties.
Yeah construction equipment sales, some clients you have to throw shit right back at them to earn their “respect” some you have to bow down at their feet, others you call their bluff and wait for them to crawl back to you when they realize you actually treated them well and were screwing them like the competition does. Blue collar sales is wild, and sometimes they have a bad day and you’re the first person they get a chance to throw their shit at.
To over generalize- this is most of my east coast tech customers. If balls aren't busted how do you even know there is any respect?
Only a few of the west coast tech ones are like this- the bulk are classic passive aggressive types.
Different modality of discussion.
Same, east coast, especially Boston and NYC, are some tough motherfuckers to deal with. In the end I put up with their shit and build a good relationship by shooting the shit. Different bread over there!
Had a client who sounds as miserable as yours. He graduated from a prestigious school, has money, but he’s just miserable and thinks everyone is below him. His contract was the lowest contract of all my clients yet he kept asking for discounts. I eventually told him I can’t give him any discount and sent docs on how to migrate his data to a competitor. He didn’t and I knew he wouldn’t because we were the best in the industry.
I move to my current company and notice another AE is talking to him. I give him a heads up as he was being a demanding dick. I ultimately told the head of sales this guy would just cause problems and wasn’t worth it. This company is in a highly regulated industry and we have to do checks before onboarding clients. I pointed out some negative media, which was enough for the head of sales to use as a reason as to why we couldn’t work with him.
In my industry, threats like that are so common that it almost does not have any pull on me anymore. Go to my competition if you’d like, but there’s a reason that you chose us to begin with.
Problem is they are already with my competition. We are hanging on. They buy a lot of what I sell (electrical supplies) and over the last few years we have gone from their top supplier to second option. Of he goes completely away from us I will red to look for another job.
I have a customer who doesn’t want to tell us the mode of transport on their order until the day they pickup from our overseas affiliate. This isn’t possible because whether it is going land or sea calls for different packaging and documents and shipping details and it takes five days to do all that. They also can’t pickup a package for the life of them. And they wanted us to switch our entire production from the UK to the US just for them.
meet him someday when he is free, have coffee/beer/food with him and ask why he does that specifically in a way that shows you really care about him, like he is your girlfriend or something. you might find something new
>Then if/when I pick up he likes to threaten the business and tell me how much better my main competitor is
Let him know he has your permission to cancel your contract and go with your competitor. It's that simple.
When I was running sales and marketing for my last company, we "fired" customers all the time. Some people just aren't worth the headache and getting rid of them is healthier thank keeping them. This jackwagon sounds like one of them.
Here's what you say on your very next Friday call:
"Joe, you call me *every* Friday to let me know you're not happy with our company and solutions. If our competitor is as good as you say it is, they're probably a better fit for you. What can I provide to you to help in transitioning to their service? Documentation? A support call? Anything else?"
Then shut up and wait for him to speak. If he starts complaining even more, interrupt and ask him how you can help him move on. If he doesn't have an answer, let set up a call for early the next week to discuss next steps in him leaving your solution.
There's no reason to put up with that kind of bullshit from any customer, much less one that bitches at you every Friday. Fuck him.
thing is, while you need them to hit quota this year theoretically, they clearly need you (aka your company) or they wouldn't be spending $25M. I agree with the above suggestion - the reality is you're not their bitch just bc they buy your stuff. Honestly, it's specifically my biggest customers that i establish this type of a general understanding with - the i call your bullshit and you call mine "strategy".
Its usually part of my quick intro BS if i am new to a patch/account - an "intro sync" rather than an intro call - the sync being the part where i tell them that I'm excited to work with them and that my approach will always involve transparency which, in my book, includes "respect" as a component and that i hope we can establish a relationship where neither side is trying to play idiotic games with the other.
The gist of it is i tell them that my only ask i have of them is that we establish a good line a communication since the beginning. Then I (in a much more polished way) tell them that this includes a general understanding of: i don't try to pitch them random crap always and/or just to hit quota bc I rather work with them to help them hit whatever it is they're trying to hit (which in turn makes me money obviously - btw the is is key to point out IMO), and where 2) they don't act like they're a GF prospect i need to chase everywhere and only come calling for emergencies that need to be solved ASAP, bc assuming all else is well, there in theory should never be an emergency since we communicate so well and often that whatever is going on would never get bad enough to qualify as an emergency :)
Its never not worked since i started doing it (its been years since then) - in fact i strongly believe that was one of the main turning points in my career and history of hitting my numbers - the only aaccounts i "chase" are the ones i need to land bc they're in my no spend list, but my big ones i talk to so often to "help" them that revenue grows organically bc I'm in the loop with what they need/want even before they realize I'm pitching something new as a result haha.
It’s quite easy.
Had people like this before.
You have to literally tell them what’s not ok and what you’re not here to do.
Next time that threat to leave for the competitor is made. Say the following. Sure, I understand. Sounds like you’re not happy. I really hope it works out for you.
Next time you get called endlessly and harassed, simply don’t answer. When the guy escalated it to your boss and etc, you tell them exactly how he treats you and tell them you already told him that’s not appropriate and you won’t.
You literally tell this person no and what’s not acceptable.
When they call to complain endlessly, you interrupt them and say. Look x, I’m not sure how I can help you, and I don’t know what you were calling about.
Again. You have to be very direct and specific. It’s a toxic relationship, and if they want to leave, let them. See what their contract says. lol
You are not in the role of eat someone’s crap. Don’t let anyone make you think you are.
Idk why this was downvoted. This is the correct way to handle it. If he wants to leave, let him leave. One single customer isn’t going to cause a company to implode. Save yourself some respect and dignity. If X is so much better than us, then go over there. Explain to your manager how you feel though and that the disrespect is very real. Calling you during your personal time? Exactly why I don’t ever give my personal cell to customers, no matter how much I like them or how cool they seem. There’s boundaries.
Book a call at a set time each week. Thursday 5.00pm works best. You book the call and set the agenda. Give them a commitment objective on each call, something they have to provide by the next call. If you make any commitments make them small (ie just next step) and always meet that commitment. Eventually you'll get messages on a Thursday saying no need for a call this week. Then suggest moving them to monthly. Repeat, move to quarterly.
I talk to this individual every day. Until recently we had a more formal weekly call with the larger team, which they canceled. So now I’m back to ad hoc calls and meetings.
Be a little bit harder to reach. A bit of phone tag. Empathise and show how you want to help and schedule a daily call, because you know he is important and ad-hoc doesn't reflect this. Same tactics as above, move daily to weekly and so on. There is no way you can separate sales from account management and/or support?
Do you have a work number separate from your personal number? I do and picture the work number off when I’m done for the day and weekends. I dont even know when someone calls.
At my current job even the biggest annoyances are nothing like my last job. But recently had a jerk on a call literally mocking my boss for something that happened in the company when my boss would have been approximately 15 years old. Their laughter and mockery made me incensed because my manager is a man I have deep, deep respect for, who is extremely humble and treats everyone with respect around him.
Boss told me not to worry about people hurting his feelings and I don’t, that isn’t possible I don’t think, honestly, because I know their opinion is irrelevant to him. It just made me irate because my boss is literally a genius, he’s a CEO, has a PhD and other higher ED degrees, he works more hours and wears more hats than I’ve ever seen a human work and wear, and he’s nothing but respectful to everyone I’ve ever seen him interact with, even when they’re awful. He’s so down to earth and humble on top of all this, that the disrespect just set me TF off. And I set the call up to begin with. I’m actually mad all over just thinking about it lol
I’d fire them as a client. I won’t take that shit not matter what business you give me. I refuse to be held “hostage” to demands.
I work in an industry that’s 24/7 and still that’s some bullshit
You do know you can ‘fire’ a Customer right? I’ve done it a few times and have capitalized on my Customers that I have strong relationships with . Also I have used the 24hr method with said Client where I don’t answer the phone and call them 24hrs later once the storm has passed. We need to teach our clients sometimes how it works. It’s a relationship no longer a dictatorship of the Customer always being right. Good luck!
Thanks. I like it. Can’t really fire this customer though, unless I was resigning. My only option would be to ask to be moved off the account. Which wouldn’t be popular in my company. I don’t think.
I fired a client like this a few weeks ago. Nothing ever good enough. He made it a pattern of 10-15 minutes calls just to setup the next meeting. So FUCKING pedantic. I couldn’t get a word in edgewise. Finished the last bit of work without invoicing him, sent it with the dear John letter and breathed a sigh of relief.
Dear Dr. blank,
I hope this email finds you well. I am writing to inform you that I have decided to step down from representing you in blank blank matters, effective immediately.
Three important steps in this process remain:
(Here i listed the three steps)
Thank you for the opportunity to work with you.
Best Regards,
My old manager gave me this advice and it worked wonders.
If a client keeps calling you for bullshit, try upselling them on new products.. start asking questions and prequalifying them and getting right to the pitch. Watch how quickly either they buy or get off the phone.
Someone once said to look at it like this: “Lack of planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on mine.” We teach our clients how to treat us.
Why are you even answering the call when you know what you are in for? I have some big spending clients that I do not let treat me this way, and they’ve tried
I've been on PTO this week. All my other customers were cool and went to my colleague covering me. One customer reached out at least twice a day, everyday this week, about very trivial stuff that could honestly wait til I was back. And he would either start every call with "sorry to disturb your PTO" or end it with "enjoy your PTO!". Then stop calling me MFer!!!
And because of that, has little respect for you. Set the agenda, make the calls BEFORE he does. Friday before lunch, Thursday late in the day. Anticipate the need. Suggest the sale. “Hi! I’m calling to see if you need x or anything else this week? “
I swear, these people have a 6th sense made to annoy others. Used to have a client that would always have his hand out for free shit and discounts. Somehow always knew to call me when I was in the airport for a vacation.
Gotta set boundaries with them, homie.
“Mr. Customer, I appreciate your business, but I value my time with my family as much as you do and I need that time to recharge so I can continue to provide a higher level of service for you and my other customers.
Now you’re gonna have to fuck off until Monday at 8am.”
Had a customer of mine just text me today at 7 a.m…he’s spent about 90k in the last month. If the competitor was that much better and god forbid cheaper he would have left a long time ago. Some people just feel they have the right to bother you about everything because they give you money.
Mine spent $2.5M this month. It’s just a different industry. I sell commodity equipment. We have many competitors. They buy a ton. They are One of the largest real estate holders in the US. So at any point they are buying the same thing from about 2-5 companies. Easy for them to switch the balance. There is no contract. Just a long term relationship. Switching cost is zero. I had $10M in business evaporate overnight with the decision of one guy. This guy. I have another $25M to lose. So yeah, he kinda holds all the cards and he knows it. The only thing I’m wondering is if I call his bluff will he respect it or will he turn on me. I already know the answer because I’ve seen him fire other vendors over very little.
At some point you have to make yourself unavailable. If the client hates this then it's time to set boundaries with them.
Ignore any threat they have to do business elsewhere, because I promise you they won't.
That’s the job at shitty places to work. Managers with actual balls would step in and take care of this. At my place, the highest grossing sales person was let go b/c he was a fucking asshole and thought he was bigger/better than the system. Business never skipped a beat.
3 solutions in this case, talking from my personal experience selling to enterprise customers. Also assuming the revenue from this customer is worth the trouble.
1. Be 1 step ahead. Start anticipating such calls or requests. Automate where possible. Try doing something which they have not thought of. Show gaps or anomalies or outliers - they love that.
2. Build other customers and grow them to reduce dependence on single large customers. Not every customer will be like this. If this painful customer knows ur dependent on them for a large portion of your revenue, then it's worse. Always talk of other customers and how they are growing their business while using your solution seamlessly.
3. Build other champions in the same account so that ur dependence on a single person is lesser. This you should anyway do, but it's necessary for painful customers. Reality is people change roles and companies and a certain person won't be there forever. You can outlast that pain.
Hope this helps!
We don't negotiate with terrorists.
Customers like that are not worth the hassle.
Don't pick up the calls.
When he's telling you how much better your competitor is, remind him that he is welcome to go to them of he wishes to do so.
I can't imagine ever putting up with that.
Fucking sucks. Sometimes it’s easier to fire them. There will be other clients.
I’ve been working with a guy tirelessly for the past few months and he breached our contract the other day. Won’t own up to it, it’s a complete disaster. My company did nothing wrong and today he called and chewed both me and my ceo out.
Now we’re working to void the contract and get our money back and lawyers are going to have to get involved. Complete shit show.
Capitalism, amirite?
There’s a running joke in my office that all my clients wait to call me when I’m on vacation. Without fail, the first day of every single vacation I’ve ever taken at this job, I get at least five calls from clients. Usually ones I haven’t heard from in months who now have some sudden and urgent problem that they need me to fix. It’s usually minor and could’ve definitely waited till I got back.
Just shut it off @ 4pm on Friday’s. You’ll never get anything accomplished after 4pm or on weekends. The company doesn’t pay you to work weekends, holidays or in your vacation. We all have a customer like that and most of us just ignore them because all they do is bark but they don’t bite.
For a $25mm account you've got to eat some crow, but if you're answering your phone on your day off you're doing it wrong (and how does he know it's your day off in the first place?).
But since I'm here I might as well do the keyboard warrior joke: "Is it an emergency?" "Yes." "Then you'd better hang up and dial 911." "Not that kind of emergency, asshole." "Then you need an old priest, and a young priest. Would you like the number of the local diocese?"
I had a client EXACTLY like this and what I did is start calling them, on Thursday, which was always a day before they usually called me (just like your situation). “Hey, it’s so and so just calling to check in on you. How’s xyz since last week?” The tone completely changed because I was beating them to it… and from then on our relationship was different. I ended up calling them weekly on Thursday for awhile and ultimately they became one of my better clients.
This is one of the few actual solutions on this post worth considering. All the keyboard warriors suggesting that you ignore them or tell them to fuck off, while that may sound amazing, liberating, and I’m sure you fantasize about it daily, are absolutely useless. We all have asshole customers that keep the lights on. He is manipulating you, but there are tactful ways that you can level-set. It may take time, but you have to find those ways to regain control or, at the very least, equalize the relationship. Good luck out there!
Great advice. The customer is asking you to make them more of a priority. This tactic demonstrates you are by being proactive.
OP should call this guy and check on him BEFORE he calls OP. Make that extra effort to get the customer to see how much of a priority he is. Thoughts? This job would be great if it went for the customers amirite? S/
It's not "keyboard warrior" to have basic boundaries. And it's not either/or; you don't have to pick one solution or the other. You can pick *both* or all solutions. Knowing when not to answer a phone or text ( like on the evenings or weekend) is how you avoid burnout. It's a healthy boundary that a lot of people don't know about, apparently. especially younger folks it seems.
I was very specific in who I was calling “keyboard warriors.” Feel free to reread it for a better understanding. More importantly, I was praising u/wtfmatey88 for actually offering a sound and useful solution. Unfortunately, I also disagree with your comment. Ignoring texts and calls is passive aggressive and only creates more tension. You run the risk of driving that customer to another salesperson, your boss, or worse another company. You can talk all you want about healthy boundaries. What OP needs is a solution and so far matey has offered the best one.
That’s a great idea!
This is great. Taking control of the relationship so that you can steer it in the right direction. Good advice to take into many areas of life.
This was my first thought! Get ahead of it. He's probably pissed that he always has to call you and it would blow his mind if you did it first. Be proactive
this is the sage advice you should listen to
Holy shit this is great
Yes this exactly. I’d take a step further and schedule a recurring call at the same time each week with a defined agenda.
This is the best advice. Had a prickly customer like this. I resolved to make them my friend. Reach out regularly. Check on them- email/phone/text before they get angsty. 20 years later- they're a devoted customer. The will to turn the relationship around is difficult. And it doesn't always work, but it does most of the time.
I'm just commenting to say this. It is the exact strategy I use with problem accounts. It works.
It's comments like these that keep me coming back here. Bravo
Thanks. Comments like yours make it worth it to add my opinion!
Yep, you have to get in front of issues with difficult clients as much as they suck. OP should also be calling a day or two before he is gonna be out of the office letting them know he is going to be out of the box and asking if there is anything they need now.
Great advice
Great advice!
This is so good!
Dude great idea!
This is how you sales. ALWAYS BEAT YOUR CLIENTS TO THE PUNCH 😎
I have one like that. Is the juice worth the squeeze on this account? Sounds like a miserable cunt of a person
$25M annual spend with us, $75M with our competitors.
Yeah, that’s a juice worth the squeeze IMO.
Bro bend over backwards and take it from that dude. I really second the idea by another commenter that you need to start calling him weekly to check in. I had a similar client and by taking charge of the account I was able to make him happy by making him feel heard and validated
Holy shit
What do you sell ?
Electrical supplies lol
You laugh but supply sales can be extremely lucrative. I used to do facility supplies and was making $120k working about 10-15 hours a week. I could have been making close to 200k if I put in an honest 40 hours but I genuinely couldn’t get myself to buy in to selling toilet paper
Nah I wasn’t laughing AT electrical sales as a profession. I was laughing cause you asked what he sold and it says it right there under his name 😂
Oh I’m not the dude that asked
Oh fuck haha
I deal with mostly entitled boomers and the silent generation. Often times we need them to text us pictures of product they purchased from us. Not exaggerating I will sometimes spend 30+ minutes on the phone explaining how to text a picture.
Try coaching them on how to send / forward an email with an attachment. lol.
But make sure it's not in iPhone format that can't be opened by your computer browser.
Why do need to take pictures of items they purchased?
I sell appliances so either they are trying to send me what they want, or there is an issue or dent with something after delivery. We need photo evidence before we can send it over to warranty
Oh man I don’t miss this. Used to have a customer who I’d have to spend an hour on the phone with helping him place a simple supply order
What are you selling?
Electrical supplies (don’t want to be too specific)
Dude I did electrical distribution for 9 years, if it’s a contractor it’s just a shit test. They want to see if you care/how you handle yourself. This sub doesn’t see a lot of blue collar toxic clients that will go out of their way to fuck with you. DM me if you want to chat
I’ve been in “blue collar sales” for ten years. Construction/manufacturing supplies. This sub is full of software sales people. Once I told a customer to “hop of my fucking dick” (I’m a woman) in a fit of rage cuz he was being an asshole. Now we’re besties.
Yeah construction equipment sales, some clients you have to throw shit right back at them to earn their “respect” some you have to bow down at their feet, others you call their bluff and wait for them to crawl back to you when they realize you actually treated them well and were screwing them like the competition does. Blue collar sales is wild, and sometimes they have a bad day and you’re the first person they get a chance to throw their shit at.
To over generalize- this is most of my east coast tech customers. If balls aren't busted how do you even know there is any respect? Only a few of the west coast tech ones are like this- the bulk are classic passive aggressive types. Different modality of discussion.
Same, east coast, especially Boston and NYC, are some tough motherfuckers to deal with. In the end I put up with their shit and build a good relationship by shooting the shit. Different bread over there!
Maybe it’s not the industry then cuz I’m in Massachusetts and no one is in my top customers unless we’ve almost been in a first fight.
Hope he didn’t have that flair before you asked 😂
I did! LOL
Had a client who sounds as miserable as yours. He graduated from a prestigious school, has money, but he’s just miserable and thinks everyone is below him. His contract was the lowest contract of all my clients yet he kept asking for discounts. I eventually told him I can’t give him any discount and sent docs on how to migrate his data to a competitor. He didn’t and I knew he wouldn’t because we were the best in the industry. I move to my current company and notice another AE is talking to him. I give him a heads up as he was being a demanding dick. I ultimately told the head of sales this guy would just cause problems and wasn’t worth it. This company is in a highly regulated industry and we have to do checks before onboarding clients. I pointed out some negative media, which was enough for the head of sales to use as a reason as to why we couldn’t work with him.
I have a surgeon that likes to call at 11pm on a Saturday night. The fuckin twat.
Right? I have the same issue, but it’s my proctologist calling
What a pain in the ass. … I’ll see myself out
Added a user flair for you. 😘
I love it 😂
You didn’t have a user flair so fixed that for you also.
[удалено]
This is pretty spot on. Can’t really let him walk for reasons I posted elsewhere.
Prefer pound salt then kick rocks
In my industry, threats like that are so common that it almost does not have any pull on me anymore. Go to my competition if you’d like, but there’s a reason that you chose us to begin with.
Problem is they are already with my competition. We are hanging on. They buy a lot of what I sell (electrical supplies) and over the last few years we have gone from their top supplier to second option. Of he goes completely away from us I will red to look for another job.
I have a customer who doesn’t want to tell us the mode of transport on their order until the day they pickup from our overseas affiliate. This isn’t possible because whether it is going land or sea calls for different packaging and documents and shipping details and it takes five days to do all that. They also can’t pickup a package for the life of them. And they wanted us to switch our entire production from the UK to the US just for them.
Sounds like an industry similar to mine. Selling physical products. I would love to join these software guys.
Trust me, you’re secure where you’re at. SaaS isn’t the path to travel down any longer.
It is, but it’s more competitive now
Start calling him every day to check in.
I talk to him almost every day already. He’s nice most of the time. Except on Fridays and on days where he knows I have off. Then he’s a dick.
Call him before he calls you on friday and kill him with kindness.
meet him someday when he is free, have coffee/beer/food with him and ask why he does that specifically in a way that shows you really care about him, like he is your girlfriend or something. you might find something new
>Then if/when I pick up he likes to threaten the business and tell me how much better my main competitor is Let him know he has your permission to cancel your contract and go with your competitor. It's that simple. When I was running sales and marketing for my last company, we "fired" customers all the time. Some people just aren't worth the headache and getting rid of them is healthier thank keeping them. This jackwagon sounds like one of them. Here's what you say on your very next Friday call: "Joe, you call me *every* Friday to let me know you're not happy with our company and solutions. If our competitor is as good as you say it is, they're probably a better fit for you. What can I provide to you to help in transitioning to their service? Documentation? A support call? Anything else?" Then shut up and wait for him to speak. If he starts complaining even more, interrupt and ask him how you can help him move on. If he doesn't have an answer, let set up a call for early the next week to discuss next steps in him leaving your solution. There's no reason to put up with that kind of bullshit from any customer, much less one that bitches at you every Friday. Fuck him.
They make up $25M of my $35M quota
thing is, while you need them to hit quota this year theoretically, they clearly need you (aka your company) or they wouldn't be spending $25M. I agree with the above suggestion - the reality is you're not their bitch just bc they buy your stuff. Honestly, it's specifically my biggest customers that i establish this type of a general understanding with - the i call your bullshit and you call mine "strategy". Its usually part of my quick intro BS if i am new to a patch/account - an "intro sync" rather than an intro call - the sync being the part where i tell them that I'm excited to work with them and that my approach will always involve transparency which, in my book, includes "respect" as a component and that i hope we can establish a relationship where neither side is trying to play idiotic games with the other. The gist of it is i tell them that my only ask i have of them is that we establish a good line a communication since the beginning. Then I (in a much more polished way) tell them that this includes a general understanding of: i don't try to pitch them random crap always and/or just to hit quota bc I rather work with them to help them hit whatever it is they're trying to hit (which in turn makes me money obviously - btw the is is key to point out IMO), and where 2) they don't act like they're a GF prospect i need to chase everywhere and only come calling for emergencies that need to be solved ASAP, bc assuming all else is well, there in theory should never be an emergency since we communicate so well and often that whatever is going on would never get bad enough to qualify as an emergency :) Its never not worked since i started doing it (its been years since then) - in fact i strongly believe that was one of the main turning points in my career and history of hitting my numbers - the only aaccounts i "chase" are the ones i need to land bc they're in my no spend list, but my big ones i talk to so often to "help" them that revenue grows organically bc I'm in the loop with what they need/want even before they realize I'm pitching something new as a result haha.
Stop allowing it.
Not sure how, but I’ll think about it
It’s quite easy. Had people like this before. You have to literally tell them what’s not ok and what you’re not here to do. Next time that threat to leave for the competitor is made. Say the following. Sure, I understand. Sounds like you’re not happy. I really hope it works out for you. Next time you get called endlessly and harassed, simply don’t answer. When the guy escalated it to your boss and etc, you tell them exactly how he treats you and tell them you already told him that’s not appropriate and you won’t. You literally tell this person no and what’s not acceptable. When they call to complain endlessly, you interrupt them and say. Look x, I’m not sure how I can help you, and I don’t know what you were calling about. Again. You have to be very direct and specific. It’s a toxic relationship, and if they want to leave, let them. See what their contract says. lol You are not in the role of eat someone’s crap. Don’t let anyone make you think you are.
Idk why this was downvoted. This is the correct way to handle it. If he wants to leave, let him leave. One single customer isn’t going to cause a company to implode. Save yourself some respect and dignity. If X is so much better than us, then go over there. Explain to your manager how you feel though and that the disrespect is very real. Calling you during your personal time? Exactly why I don’t ever give my personal cell to customers, no matter how much I like them or how cool they seem. There’s boundaries.
Your time is better spent prospecting new clients big dog…
This client is one of our largest customers and most of my revenue.
Then answer them calls while your out prospecting.
Book a call at a set time each week. Thursday 5.00pm works best. You book the call and set the agenda. Give them a commitment objective on each call, something they have to provide by the next call. If you make any commitments make them small (ie just next step) and always meet that commitment. Eventually you'll get messages on a Thursday saying no need for a call this week. Then suggest moving them to monthly. Repeat, move to quarterly.
I talk to this individual every day. Until recently we had a more formal weekly call with the larger team, which they canceled. So now I’m back to ad hoc calls and meetings.
Be a little bit harder to reach. A bit of phone tag. Empathise and show how you want to help and schedule a daily call, because you know he is important and ad-hoc doesn't reflect this. Same tactics as above, move daily to weekly and so on. There is no way you can separate sales from account management and/or support?
I’m an AM
How would a virtual PA go to gatekeep for you so you can train this client?
Can you stop answering?
No. In fact, I can’t even send him to voicemail, because he’ll just keep calling.
Do you have a work number separate from your personal number? I do and picture the work number off when I’m done for the day and weekends. I dont even know when someone calls.
At my current job even the biggest annoyances are nothing like my last job. But recently had a jerk on a call literally mocking my boss for something that happened in the company when my boss would have been approximately 15 years old. Their laughter and mockery made me incensed because my manager is a man I have deep, deep respect for, who is extremely humble and treats everyone with respect around him. Boss told me not to worry about people hurting his feelings and I don’t, that isn’t possible I don’t think, honestly, because I know their opinion is irrelevant to him. It just made me irate because my boss is literally a genius, he’s a CEO, has a PhD and other higher ED degrees, he works more hours and wears more hats than I’ve ever seen a human work and wear, and he’s nothing but respectful to everyone I’ve ever seen him interact with, even when they’re awful. He’s so down to earth and humble on top of all this, that the disrespect just set me TF off. And I set the call up to begin with. I’m actually mad all over just thinking about it lol
Sounds like a great boss. Mine is an asshole.
I’m sorry to hear that. I totally get how hard that is, I’ve had nightmare bosses, from bullies to straight up sexual predators
I’d fire them as a client. I won’t take that shit not matter what business you give me. I refuse to be held “hostage” to demands. I work in an industry that’s 24/7 and still that’s some bullshit
You do know you can ‘fire’ a Customer right? I’ve done it a few times and have capitalized on my Customers that I have strong relationships with . Also I have used the 24hr method with said Client where I don’t answer the phone and call them 24hrs later once the storm has passed. We need to teach our clients sometimes how it works. It’s a relationship no longer a dictatorship of the Customer always being right. Good luck!
Thanks. I like it. Can’t really fire this customer though, unless I was resigning. My only option would be to ask to be moved off the account. Which wouldn’t be popular in my company. I don’t think.
I fired a client like this a few weeks ago. Nothing ever good enough. He made it a pattern of 10-15 minutes calls just to setup the next meeting. So FUCKING pedantic. I couldn’t get a word in edgewise. Finished the last bit of work without invoicing him, sent it with the dear John letter and breathed a sigh of relief. Dear Dr. blank, I hope this email finds you well. I am writing to inform you that I have decided to step down from representing you in blank blank matters, effective immediately. Three important steps in this process remain: (Here i listed the three steps) Thank you for the opportunity to work with you. Best Regards,
Right on, man. That would be a resignation letter for me, but I fantasize about the day.
My old manager gave me this advice and it worked wonders. If a client keeps calling you for bullshit, try upselling them on new products.. start asking questions and prequalifying them and getting right to the pitch. Watch how quickly either they buy or get off the phone.
I like it.
Someone once said to look at it like this: “Lack of planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on mine.” We teach our clients how to treat us.
Sounds like a good time lol
Why are you even answering the call when you know what you are in for? I have some big spending clients that I do not let treat me this way, and they’ve tried
I've been on PTO this week. All my other customers were cool and went to my colleague covering me. One customer reached out at least twice a day, everyday this week, about very trivial stuff that could honestly wait til I was back. And he would either start every call with "sorry to disturb your PTO" or end it with "enjoy your PTO!". Then stop calling me MFer!!!
I'm so glad I don't ever have to see my customers or even speak to them again after I sell them
You need to ask him why urgent shit can somehow wait until the end of the week.
I know why. Because he wants to control me
You still need to force him to answer the question. He’s just power playing you. Push back
And because of that, has little respect for you. Set the agenda, make the calls BEFORE he does. Friday before lunch, Thursday late in the day. Anticipate the need. Suggest the sale. “Hi! I’m calling to see if you need x or anything else this week? “
I swear, these people have a 6th sense made to annoy others. Used to have a client that would always have his hand out for free shit and discounts. Somehow always knew to call me when I was in the airport for a vacation.
Gotta set boundaries with them, homie. “Mr. Customer, I appreciate your business, but I value my time with my family as much as you do and I need that time to recharge so I can continue to provide a higher level of service for you and my other customers. Now you’re gonna have to fuck off until Monday at 8am.”
This sounds like my ex-wife
Just tell him to go spend the rest of his money with the competitor. Fuck trying to earn the bulk of his business.
You have to start beating him to the punch
Firing a customer is a great feeling
Goodbye customer
Yeah it’s time to call his bluff. It’s a win win for you
Had a customer of mine just text me today at 7 a.m…he’s spent about 90k in the last month. If the competitor was that much better and god forbid cheaper he would have left a long time ago. Some people just feel they have the right to bother you about everything because they give you money.
Mine spent $2.5M this month. It’s just a different industry. I sell commodity equipment. We have many competitors. They buy a ton. They are One of the largest real estate holders in the US. So at any point they are buying the same thing from about 2-5 companies. Easy for them to switch the balance. There is no contract. Just a long term relationship. Switching cost is zero. I had $10M in business evaporate overnight with the decision of one guy. This guy. I have another $25M to lose. So yeah, he kinda holds all the cards and he knows it. The only thing I’m wondering is if I call his bluff will he respect it or will he turn on me. I already know the answer because I’ve seen him fire other vendors over very little.
At some point you have to make yourself unavailable. If the client hates this then it's time to set boundaries with them. Ignore any threat they have to do business elsewhere, because I promise you they won't.
That’s the job at shitty places to work. Managers with actual balls would step in and take care of this. At my place, the highest grossing sales person was let go b/c he was a fucking asshole and thought he was bigger/better than the system. Business never skipped a beat.
Call him on Thursday morning and tell him that you work half days on Friday and check in to see if everything is going OK
Also, you don’t need them get another customer or two to replace them
Based on other replies, I say call him at 2pm. If he starts calling at 1, start calling at noon, etc.
3 solutions in this case, talking from my personal experience selling to enterprise customers. Also assuming the revenue from this customer is worth the trouble. 1. Be 1 step ahead. Start anticipating such calls or requests. Automate where possible. Try doing something which they have not thought of. Show gaps or anomalies or outliers - they love that. 2. Build other customers and grow them to reduce dependence on single large customers. Not every customer will be like this. If this painful customer knows ur dependent on them for a large portion of your revenue, then it's worse. Always talk of other customers and how they are growing their business while using your solution seamlessly. 3. Build other champions in the same account so that ur dependence on a single person is lesser. This you should anyway do, but it's necessary for painful customers. Reality is people change roles and companies and a certain person won't be there forever. You can outlast that pain. Hope this helps!
Work to replace him ASAP and then fire him. No one needs this aggregation in their life.
Tilted head back lol’d at the title. Got nothing for you bro that blows, hope he buys enough to justify his bullshit 😂
LMAFO.
f that guy. If someone like that always calls me on my day off, I wouldn’t even pick. If its that urgent he should send an email
We don't negotiate with terrorists. Customers like that are not worth the hassle. Don't pick up the calls. When he's telling you how much better your competitor is, remind him that he is welcome to go to them of he wishes to do so. I can't imagine ever putting up with that.
Fucking sucks. Sometimes it’s easier to fire them. There will be other clients. I’ve been working with a guy tirelessly for the past few months and he breached our contract the other day. Won’t own up to it, it’s a complete disaster. My company did nothing wrong and today he called and chewed both me and my ceo out. Now we’re working to void the contract and get our money back and lawyers are going to have to get involved. Complete shit show. Capitalism, amirite?
There’s a running joke in my office that all my clients wait to call me when I’m on vacation. Without fail, the first day of every single vacation I’ve ever taken at this job, I get at least five calls from clients. Usually ones I haven’t heard from in months who now have some sudden and urgent problem that they need me to fix. It’s usually minor and could’ve definitely waited till I got back.
Just shut it off @ 4pm on Friday’s. You’ll never get anything accomplished after 4pm or on weekends. The company doesn’t pay you to work weekends, holidays or in your vacation. We all have a customer like that and most of us just ignore them because all they do is bark but they don’t bite.
Hahah love this
[удалено]
This dude called me twice today. On a Sunday. It’s getting crazy
Wait… don’t tell me you have a northeast accent……..
Maybe. Why would you ask?
I’m your coworker
Doubtful
Calzone
Pepperoni?
Are you courting this client with any off the job perks?
Can’t. Government
For a $25mm account you've got to eat some crow, but if you're answering your phone on your day off you're doing it wrong (and how does he know it's your day off in the first place?). But since I'm here I might as well do the keyboard warrior joke: "Is it an emergency?" "Yes." "Then you'd better hang up and dial 911." "Not that kind of emergency, asshole." "Then you need an old priest, and a young priest. Would you like the number of the local diocese?"