Thread: How to deal with stubborn customers?

How to deal with difficult or stubborn customers or clients? What are the tricks to politely deal with such people and make yourself heard? I have come across such situations many a times, each time I pray that I never encounter that person again. But all that is invain. What do you people do? Any suggestion?

Originally Posted by michaelatylor

How to deal with difficult or stubborn customers or clients? What are the tricks to politely deal with such people and make yourself heard? I have come across such situations many a times, each time I pray that I never encounter that person again. But all that is invain. What do you people do? Any suggestion?

For me if they are flat out rude or abusive repeatedly for no reason then it is perfectly fine to say some thing in a professional way. I haven't really encountered this to the point of having to do so in SS, but I have been in customer service all my working life so... iy yi yi have I had some doosies! LOL.
"Do you feel I did some thing to you that I am unaware of?" This little sentence gives them an opportunity to say so or hold their peace and for you to call them out on their behavior while making them understand that you are well aware of it and it has not gone unnoticed nor is appreciated. They usually will say "OH NO YOU DID NOTHING." and adjust their attitudes.

It really depends on the situation. Some people are simply miserable and we just have to deal with them a few minutes a month. It seems easier to get beyond it if I think in my head "Thanks for the $ see you next month for more."

If this is about new tenants moving in well I have found it best to be nicer than they are being rude etc. "I know having to move things can be hard I've been there, we will do every thing we can to make this part of it as stress free and easy for you as possible" can go a long way. After all this very well may be the case, right or wrong.

For me this would go case by case and what it is they may be upset about. Trying to fix it as long as they are not asking for me to steal from the company, this includes lower rent etc. is usually best. If you truly feel abused by them for no reason and feel their rent is not worth it then a non renewal of lease letter can always be sent, we do rent month to month after all.
~ Di ~

Have always tried to be polite and friendly with everyone I encounter but have never had a problem being just as rude and abusive as they are to me. Everyone that knows me will tell you I'm the easiest person in the world to do business with but I will not tolerate bad manners or condesending personalities, period.....If a customer violates what few rules I have here or consistantly pays late and then complains about late fees I will gladly refer them down the street and rent to someone else. Life is to short to live in misery.

Originally Posted by FHARumRunner

Have always tried to be polite and friendly with everyone I encounter but have never had a problem being just as rude and abusive as they are to me. Everyone that knows me will tell you I'm the easiest person in the world to do business with but I will not tolerate bad manners or condesending personalities, period.....If a customer violates what few rules I have here or consistantly pays late and then complains about late fees I will gladly refer them down the street and rent to someone else. Life is to short to live in misery.

ANY business dealing with customers is going to entail taking SOME, REMEMBER I SAID SOME crapola off them lol. It's the nature of the beast and the odds go up with the more people we deal with.
For me a huge part has always been choosing on HOW I will deal with it, how much of certain things I am willing to take, and things I won't take at all..etc.
There are pleanty of professional ways to turn it on them.
As far as people being late? OH THAT'S A GIVEN IN this business LOL. I see it as having 2 ways to look at it.
#1 get upset, keep looking at that list , keeping boiling that here we GO MR. SMITH, JONES ETC. IS LATE AGAIN! OR
#2 THANKS FOR THE EXTRA $

I find the latter much better for my personal sanity and frankly for the company. We have created an entirely new income for our owner on late fees alone.
They complain? "Sorry the computer program was updated and no longer ALLOWS fees to be waived." Said with an empathetic smile of course. :D
PERIOD. CUSTOMERS ONLY KNOW WHAT MANAGERS TELL THEM AS FAR AS WHAT THEY CAN AND CAN'T DO.
~ Di ~

I am always polite and try to treat them with courtesy, dignity and respect.
I had one guy in the last 6 months who got in my face about not being caught up on payments, and I let him know really quickly that I wouldn't tolerate his aggresiveness towards me. I just told him, we are having a conversation, Im not yelling at you (yet) and I expect you to talk to me in a civil manner. If you do not, you need to leave the yard right now, and luckily he was overlocked so he couldn't get to his truck.
I showed him his statement, and where we had not received a payment from him.

I am very calm, and as long as people will work with us, I can make things happen, but when they don't and refuse to listen it gets really hard to be Mr. nice guy. I got enough stress in my life, some deadbeat who can't pay his storage fee isn't worth my stress, don't pay me I don't care, I'll just sell your stuff! lol.

I am very calm, and as long as people will work with us, I can make things happen, but when they don't and refuse to listen it gets really hard to be Mr. nice guy. I got enough stress in my life, some deadbeat who can't pay his storage fee isn't worth my stress, don't pay me I don't care, I'll just sell your stuff! lol.

THERE YA GO LOL!
TRUST ME when I tell you I know about customer abuse etc. I waitressed for 25 yrs. in NEW JERSEY LOL LOL
I had to eat A LOT OF CROW. I also had A COUPLE of times where enough was enough.
How about a guy playing big wig in front of a table of 12, mind you I had other huge tables also, running me into the ground, talking and treating me a like an insubordinate child etc. when I was jumping through hoops for this "Business Man".
After 4 HOURS of his treatment AND my table tied up I Watch him play the final BIG WIG move to pay the check and won't LET any one else see it or put in for tips after much ado with them trying to do so.
4 Hours and a $367.76 check later, YUP I REMEMBER THE AMOUNT TO THIS DAY LOL He leaves me $2.47!
The owners watch me run past them into the parking lot. The guy comes back in SCREAMING HIS BRAINS out that he wanted me fired.
I looked at the owner who was totally confused as I had worked for for 11 yrs. with out a hitch and said "I didn't want to bear the responsibility of him doing with out, It was the MORAL things to return his $2.47 to him."
So trust me I am NOT Gandhi LOL. I simply decided a long time ago "NO ONE GETS TO LIVE IN MY HEAD RENT FREE!"
~Di ~

If a tenant is not happy with having to follow our rules, I simply say that "its obvious that you are not happy here. Please fill out this vacate notice and you can go to a facility where you will be happy".

A-Team, it helps to have a coupon available for a competitor in hand too.

my favorite one, which I hear about once a month is "If I had known YOU PEOPLE charge late fees, I wouldn't have rented from you, I would have rented somewhere else"

You know, at one of those magical mythical storage facilities that doesn't charge late fees?

And this is in addition to the fact that when they rent, I go over with them the late fee schedule, and remind them when their next payment is due, we email or snail mail invoices to eveyone, and there is a big sign behind my head with the late fee schedule, which people usually read while I'm entering their data in the computer. In addition, if it is the first 2 or 3 months that they have been renting, I try to call them and email them on the 4th to remind them that the 5th is the last day to pay before the late fee gets applied to their acount.

And to top it all off, most of the time when I hear this, it's from someone who is chronically delinquent and has been paying late fees for quite some time. Go figure.

Lisa you hit it on the head! Just had a similar discussion this week with an upcoming auction customer that hasn't made a payment since June....I am a no good ^&***