Just Say No: Three Reasons the Customer Isn’t Always Right
It’s 11:30 pm. My wife has already gone to bed. I was cramming to get an ad
done for the paper the next morning. The phone rings. It’s the client’s assistant.
“So? Is it okay?” I ask.
“She hates it,” she replies.
“Did she say why?”
“No.”
Frustrated silence. After a fruitless exchange of profanity and exasperation
we get off the phone. My wife is exhausted and livid at this ungodly hour.
So I turn off the ringer and go to bed, knowing full well that the assistant
is still furiously trying to get through to me and leaving messages on my voice
mail. I have a choice here between my wife and my client. I choose my wife.
Needless to say, I lost the client, including payment for several unpaid invoices
totaling in the hundreds of dollars, not to mention a great deal of lucrative
future work. That money is gone.
The next day I sent an email apologizing for dropping the project right before
the deadline. I swallow my pride and try to explain my actions without placing
blame on their boss. I was cornered and had to choose between my wife’s
well being and stretching to accommodate what most people may consider an unreasonable
expectation without any kind of guidance or support. In retrospect, I do not
regret losing this particular client. I simply regret the way in which it happened.
The business mantra of client service is that ‘the customer is always right’.
And customer satisfaction will always trump price and product at every turn.
It is what distinguishes one business in a sea of intense competition and gives
individual small businesses an edge over more established organizations. Serving
the client should be priority one for any successful freelancer. But, as in
life, there are no absolutes.
Freelancers choose to freelance because they are afforded freedoms and choices
their workaday colleagues lack, including whether the next project is worth
taking on. I’ve
had to learn the hard way that it’s
perfectly okay to feel free to say ‘no’.
This is difficult, especially when you’re just starting out and building
a client base or when your funds are running low. But in today’s more
robust economy, we are afforded a greater degree of economic stability and
safeguarding than our predecessors had in the time of the Great Depression.
As such, we are more free to make better choices for ourselves.
Here are three common instances when it’s okay to turn down a customer.
The Work Compromises Your Values
You’re offered a contract that helps promote a corporation that uses
third world slave labor or pollutes the environment or exploits workers without
due compensation. Perhaps you belong to a faith group and the
work could violate your beliefs. You have every right to turn down work that
bothers your spiritual or social conscience. You will sleep better at night
and possess a clear mind to better focus on your work.
The Work Compromises Your Life Balance
Sometimes, too much work is a good sign that your business is growing by leaps
and bounds. But if you’re like most freelancers, you probably work
alone. You run the hazard of taking on too much and something will give,
either in the quality of your work suffering or making a late submission
past the agreed deadline, or even worse, neglecting the most important aspects
of your life such as getting enough rest or spending time with loved ones.
No amount of prosperity is worth jeopardizing your own health or valued personal
relationships.
The Work Compromises Your Professional Worth
The mantra must be repeated: never do work on spec. It’s fine to volunteer
your skills to a charitable organization. You may even be able to get a charitable
donation tax receipt in lieu of your time. But never dedicate your valuable
time to be compensated at slave wages or way below your pay grade. Your rate
reflects your worth and if you value your highly-skilled work, you will charge
accordingly. By low balling your billing, you not only undervalue yourself,
but you undermine the worth of your profession and of all your peers in the
same discipline. If a client is looking for a deal, tread carefully,
but don’t
sell the store. It’s
better to lose him or her as a client and take that time to serve another
customer who respects your value as a professional.
Again, the client’s satisfaction is paramount to any competitive business.
But it’s your business and you reserve the right to protect
your worth and integrity. By politely refusing the occasional instance where
a project or client keeps you from maintaining your high standards or living
a balanced lifestyle, you leave room for success that’s more than just
monetary.
Original post by FreelanceSwitch.com
