By: Cathy Green
I diplomatically relieved my company of a client recently. She was a client whom I categorize as the “Never Enough” client.
The Never Enough client is a type of client that you need to be aware of. It is the client who wants more than his/her money’s worth. For me, these clients rarely last. This is a client who you will ultimately lose money on.
The Never Enough client is high maintenance to an extreme, neurotic degree and will never be totally satisfied. They will either try to get your workers to give them a deep cleaning every time the workers go in to clean or they will ask your worker(s) to do things above and beyond what is considered a maintenance cleaning.
For example, they might ask your workers to polish silver—something clearly not included in the cleaning. They don’t care what it is as long as it’s an extra—at your expense because they don’t want to pay any more.
Last year I stopped working with a Never Enough client and recently I just stopped working with another one. In each case I was diplomatic in letting them know that we are not the right “fit” for their needs.
In the case of the second client, I gave her the number to a local company—the owner and I refer clients to each other all the time. He now has her as a client and for him it might work—at least for a while.
Something you will notice about the Never Enough clients is that they will have a history of cleaning companies. They will tell you about past services that they used.
Whenever a client starts telling you about a long line of cleaning services that s/he has used, you can rest assured that you are dealing with a problem client. And there is a high probability that you will need to end the relationship after a while or they will end it.
In my case, I ended both relationships because you need to know something else about them. Oftentimes they become verbally abusive or aggressive after a while. They will start talking to your employees in a way that is inappropriate. YOU are the owner of your company and if there is a problem, clients need to address YOU, not your employees. It’s fine for them to say something but it’s not fine for them to reprimand or talk nasty to your employees. And in two cases, that has happened and I ended the relationships.
Again, always be polite and professional when ending a working relationship. However, don’t be afraid to end a working relationship because again, the Never Enough Clients will ultimately cost you money.
Time = money. And when they demand extra services that they are not paying for, that’s time and money. When they want your employees to stay extra time in the house, that’s time and money.
Your employees ultimately will tell you when there is a problem. One of the things I promise my employees is a pleasant working environment. If someone is impossible to please, that’s an unpleasant situation to be in. Respect your clients but respect your employees also. And don’t be afraid to break ties with a Never Enough client because ultimately, enough truly is enough!
