The Breakup

Goodbye customer! It’s nothing personal (at least not usually). Sometimes customers’ expectations can’t be met, other times customers require an inordinate amount of your time. On rare occasions, a customer’s behavior may expose an organization to undue peril. When any of those situations occur, it’s best to say “goodbye” and to do so quickly in a way that creates the least resentment on both sides. Know the signs when it’s time to part company.

1) They cause 80% of your problems and don’t contribute even close to 80% of your revenue.

From time to time, any customer could require more energy than others. Those high-demand situations are normal. What isn’t normal, however, is the perpetual squeaky wheel that routinely disrupts normal business operations.

Customers who buy very little and cost a lot of time, personnel, or mental energy to service may not be the customers you want to keep—especially if serving them prevents you from taking care of customers or clients who are more profitable and easier to help.

Goodbye Move: When a customer is more work than it’s worth to you, the easiest way to say goodbye is to rely on the classic “It’s not you, it’s me” approach.

If after that they insist on staying anyway, consider raising your rates accordingly.

2) They are abusive to your employees. When management allows customers to abuse employees, it’s the same as perpetrating the abuse directly. Do customers swear, yell, demean or harass your employees? If so, it’s time to draw a line in the sand and let them know what behavior is and isn’t acceptable.

If the bad behavior continues, the relationship should stop. “But she’s our best customer. She has a lot of sway.” Maybe so. She’s also the poison that potentially exposes the organization to a lawsuit, erodes morale and negatively affects the culture.

Goodbye Move: When someone is abusive, again, it’s best to say goodbye and to do so in a calm and professional manner.

“Julie, you’re obviously unhappy, and my employees are too. For the benefit of everyone, at this point I think it’s best that we part company. We both deserve better.”

3) Their behavior is out of touch with your ethics policies and practices. You are the company you keep. If you are enabling your customers to act in a way that disagrees with your organization’s values or the law, it’s time to say goodbye. Do you really want to associate yourself and your organization with those whose business practices are illegal, immoral or routinely questionable?

Goodbye Move: When someone or an organization exposes you to unneeded risk, it’s prudent to disassociate yourself and your organization from them pronto.

“We’re a very conservative organization. While we understand others have a more robust appetite for risk, it’s typically something we avoid. For that reason, another vendor is probably going to better meet your needs. At this point, we’re really just not a good fit.”

4) They expose you to unneeded financial risk. If you spend more time chasing payments than performing work, it’s time to consider a new payment plan at a minimum or a permanent breakup if that step doesn’t solve the problem.

Goodbye Move: An organization that puts your pocketbook on the line is best avoided.

5) You’re no longer a good fit. Sometimes people and organizations grow apart. Nobody has done anything wrong; the two parties are just in different places and it’s time to say goodbye.

Goodbye Move: This last goodbye is the hardest. When you find you and your customer are no longer compatible, it’s a good idea to start the conversation with something open-ended.

Assuming Bill isn’t planning for growth, you might continue with:

No matter the reason, prolonging a relationship that isn’t working does no one any favors. It’s usually not fun to say “goodbye,” but once you do, you’ll have more time to say “hello” to customers who should conduct business with you.