How to handle arrogant buyers?

[Mjdaran]

Im gonna need it real bad.

 

[Writerly]

Basically, you’re going to need a lot of patience on your end. I’m not entirely sure what problems you’ll have to face so I can’t get more specific with my advice. Either way, I wish you the best of luck. And a boatload of perseverance.

 

[Megaverse]

It never hurts to keep your cool.
Easier said than done; but still a timeless truth.

 

[Geasy]

Don't sell cheap services. The cheap ones bust your balls more than other type of buyers.

 

[shifubill]

You can take 2 approaches. You can be the a**hole seller who seller who makes enough money that he doesn't have time to deal with the little people who ask too many questions. Or you can be extremely humble, polite, and patient and give it your all to get/keep each customer and make them feel like a special little flower. I've seen it done successfully both ways, though most lean toward the latter, and some of the former aren't actually making that much money and the attitude comes naturally. It really depends on how many sales you're getting. There are people who say a certain amount of your time is spent on a certain percentage of your customers (can't remember the figures), and if you cut that percentage off you have more time to grow, develop new projects, and help the rest of your customers. It's a reasonable theory, but not a good one to start out with.

 

[LordCameltoe]

Be humble and respectful. Kill them with kindness. But be sure to live up to the expectations of your service.

Also, don't be afraid to fire a client you don't like.

 

[Frenzied]

You can take 2 approaches. You can be the a**hole seller who seller who makes enough money that he doesn't have time to deal with the little people who ask too many questions. Or you can be extremely humble, polite, and patient and give it your all to get/keep each customer and make them feel like a special little flower. I've seen it done successfully both ways, though most lean toward the latter, and some of the former aren't actually making that much money and the attitude comes naturally. It really depends on how many sales you're getting. There are people who say a certain amount of your time is spent on a certain percentage of your customers (can't remember the figures), and if you cut that percentage off you have more time to grow, develop new projects, and help the rest of your customers. It's a reasonable theory, but not a good one to start out with.

Second approach doesn’t work in the long term. It seriously deteriorates your mood and mental health. It’s affected me quite a lot, and I’m even considering hiring support teams to deal with this. It’s just too much, some people I’ve met through my business I honestly never ever dreamed would exist in this world, rudeness, being impatient, etc etc (could go on for ages)

I’m really worried at this point.

 

[bartosimpsonio]

Have a contract.

Charge for annoyances. If they're being total assholes, charge extra for the extra headache. It's all part of the job.

 

[LiquidLeads]

Stay humble, always calm down and think how you can turn this situation to generate more sells, do it with good words and over-deliver your value

 

[nakamura]

Deliver quality and deliver what you promised, then you shouldn't have any problem. Everything else should be written on a contract, tos, refund policy etc.

 

[wordslinger]

We all face those pesky clients many times in our lives. Like @shifubill said there are two ways to deal with them. You can deal with them politely, saying "Yes, Sir!" to all the extra requirements and delivering exactly the same. This works all the time. However, when working outside the project scope, you are spending time you could've used for another project. So simply mention the the extra work and include it in bill.

On the other hand, you may need to cross the line for the peace of mind. You may feel like abandoning the project and refunding the money. But remember that it may leave you with permanent reputation damage. So always, discuss about the project and spot difficult clients at an earlier stage.

 

[Nawshale]

Try to offer what you provide best...If not simply apologize them and refund. Never ever get angry and be professional. Hope these helps. Good luck with your situation.

 

[Borstal Boy]

Appreciate this might be too late -but you need to be really clear with your client upfront. What you will do, what you wont. That way, there are no arguments down the line, and if they start demanding x and y, you can tell them to F off

 

[MisterF]

Im gonna need it real bad.

Depends what you're selling and if they are potentially a long term client or a 1 off purchase.

Is it a $10 product/service or a $10k one?

Look at some to the https://www.blackhatworld.com/forums/dispute-resolution.31/ and see how good sellers resolve issues and how unprofessional some are.

 

[Sebastian Rooks]

Your post is awfully vague, but I'm going to go ahead and rant a little because I'm already here.

I think the idea that "The customer is always right" is morally reprehensible. I mean that seriously. It's degraded the moral fabric of society by creating a group of people who feel entitled to be unreasonable / unkind / unfair and another group of spineless sycophants that place money over dignity, fairness, and self respect.

What's "right" is fairness, honesty, and decency, no matter which side it favors.
I treat people with fairness, courtesy and respect, and I expect the same in return.

Outside of those simple boundaries I wouldn't want your business if you had the last dollar on earth.

edit: expanded rant

 

[Zwielicht]

 

[Mjdaran]

Being polite is my thing, but sometimes you gotta spit it out! A lot of time, when buyers take a violent tone Im in a place to handle them nicely. Like someone said, Im using the word "SORRY" and "APOLOGIZE" quite often. Its boring that I couldnt react naturally.

I almost feel like kick him in the back when the buyer got everything we wanted from me and made a chargeback claim! He was friendly a minute ago, then gone offline after claim a charge back. shhhh, that feel

 

[HolidayWriter]

1 - Something I did for a long time was bow down to cheap buyers so that I could get by on scraps. Don't do this, ever. Cheap buyers from my experience are a nightmare to deal with and expect nothing less than perfection (even they don't know what that perfection looks like). I also want to make it clear that yes, there are expensive arrogant buyers too but it happens far more with cheap assholes.

2 - Don't be afraid to say no. If a buyer looks like trouble and like it's not going to be worth the money, you can say no.

3 - Remain calm and professional. This is something I've failed to do a couple of times but no matter how much of an asshat they are, keep your calm. You'll meet ignorant and stupid buyers who think they know better than you. Just remain polite and cut ties if necessary in a professional manner. You never know who's going to record your conversations or keep screenshots of your conversations down the road to use against you.

4 - Record every piece of evidence you have and make sure if you're using PayPal, use invoicing. Don't let them just send you money. PayPal is horrendous with chargeback investigations. I've seen a couple of disputes lost when clients put bogus reasoning in their claim notes. PayPal in general sucks ass and I genuinely doubt they even look at the evidence for claims. If you do use PayPal though, do not let them just send you money for "Goods & Services", always send an invoice.

 

[shifubill]

Second approach doesn’t work in the long term. It seriously deteriorates your mood and mental health. It’s affected me quite a lot, and I’m even considering hiring support teams to deal with this. It’s just too much, some people I’ve met through my business I honestly never ever dreamed would exist in this world, rudeness, being impatient, etc etc (could go on for ages)

I’m really worried at this point.

I have no pride in business. My business persona is an invention, so it doesn't hurt me no matter what happens. But you do have to set some limitations for how much time you deal with troublemakers. A waste of your time is not leading to profit. You've got to know when to cut and run. It's about goals, not about pride.

 

[mcdollof]

If you can afford to lose him and aren't just starting out just say: I don't apprecate your behavior. If you'd like to continue doing business with me I'm going to have to ask you to stop *his behavior*.
Then he stops or you stop doing business with him