Rude Customers

[EricW]

I have this new customer that I and everyone else in my company wants to kill. The submitted a request for bid based on $35M worth of business. Gave us less than 10% of that business and want the same pricing. We quoted 23 weeks lead time. They have turned into raving lunatics because we'll only be building in 11 weeks due to herculean efforts on our part. Their documentation is crap. Their products are so poorly designed they can only be tested by fully assembling them.

And...every conference call is a new excursion in abusive behavior. And the most abusive of them is the VP of the company. I finally had to call the guy today and tell him to knock it off because my people didn't want to attend conference calls and didn't want to say anything when they were there. We have good help, but they aren't the highest paid folks around. There's simply no reason for them to take abuse because they can just head down the road and make the same money or more and not put up with this crap.

I don't care who you are or where you are or whether or not you like whom you've chosen to do business with. If you're in business, have the class to be polite and professional. Otherwise, I'll just hang up the phone or tell you not to let the door hit you in the ass on the way out of our office. And if you make my Master Planner cry one more time, I *will* kick your ass in the parking lot.

[dajarrel]

I don't care who you are or where you are or whether or not you like whom you've chosen to do business with. If you're in business, have the class to be polite and professional. Otherwise, I'll just hang up the phone or tell you not to let the door hit you in the ass on the way out of our office. And if you make my Master Planner cry one more time, I *will* kick your ass in the parking lot.

Well put..

dj

(and if the last line happens, please sell tickets. I haven't seen an industrial strength a$$ whoopin' in a long time)

[Sandormen]

Can I bring my boss for the ass-wupping part?

[HSMITH]

Boy do I know where you are coming from!!

We have a customer that beats the ever-loving crap out of the equipment we sold them, won't maintain it, won't even clean it, they put a band-aid on gaping wounds to the equipment, and then when it won't run it is OUR fault!!! They haven't taken responsibility for anything in so long it just makes me sick to deal with them. They are rude, abusive, manipulative, I could go on and on. They are just INSANE to think they can treat people like they do.

With people like my customer and your customer there will never be 'enough', they will never even acknowledge what you or I have done for them. I had talked to our sales manager and we agreed to respectfully decline to quote next time they were looking for equipment, but then our numbers were really flat for about 4 months and you know which direction the sales side is headed now. Now we are jumping through our own asses to 'repair' the relationship with these lunatics. Oh well, I am done with it. I floated a couple of resumes out and will be joining the next circus. I don't hold any hopes that it will be much better, but at least it will be a different set of clowns....

[JFD]

This kind of attitude has been getting worse every year. What used to be "parterships" between customer and supplier has turned into master/slave type deals at the working level.

I blame Wal-Mart, who seem to have perfected this kind of thing.

[Jaxshooter]

I have found after many years in business for myself that the biggest pain in the a$$ customers are usually the ones you do the least business with. The bigger customers are usually very reasonable and a pleasure to do business with.

[EricW]

If it was my decision, I'd cut these jokers loose. They will at most be 1.5% of our revenue, but we have 40% of our company wrapped around an axle trying to please them, and it's become totally obvious that if I sold them gold dubloons for $5, they'd bitch because their pockets were getting heavy.

[Jman]

Eric,

Is it possible they're tella-tuffs? You know, big b@!!s on the phone but face to face, not so much. I've run across one or two of them over the years. Invite them to tour your facility. Put human faces into this process. Maybe lunch, 9 holes whatever. Look them straight in the eye, smile and listen. Be "warm" and "concerned". This can be very disarming. Good luck with these turds.

Jim

[EricW]

Eric,

Is it possible they're tella-tuffs? You know, big b@!!s on the phone but face to face, not so much. I've run across one or two of them over the years. Invite them to tour your facility. Put human faces into this process. Maybe lunch, 9 holes whatever. Look them straight in the eye, smile and listen. Be "warm" and "concerned". This can be very disarming. Good luck with these turds.

Jim

They're just as big of shitheads in person. I've met them several times in the US, Mexico, and Europe. Latitude did nothing to correct attitude.

Edited August 26, 2007 by EricW

[cr10x]

+1 on the Wal-Mart comment.

We tend to call representatives of these types of companies "Richards".... which is of course long hand for.....

[markcic]

And if you make my Master Planner cry one more time, I *will* kick your ass in the parking lot.

I saw the whole thing and clearly it was in self defense.

[Front Man]

+1 on the Wal-Mart comment.

We tend to call representatives of these types of companies "Richards".... which is of course long hand for.....

Richard Noggins.

FM

[Round_Gun_Shooter]

I hate rude customers also which is one reason I am self employed. If you are rude, find someone else. I enjoy what I do and want to keep it that way. I am headed to my least favorite customer today to work. When this job is complete, they can find someone else for any and all future work.