Help! A Client Has Gotten Out of Control

Dear Mike,?

I have a situation with a long-time customer and one of my employees, Susan. The customer purchased something from us a while ago – two years ago, to be accurate – and we’ve been trying to implement it ever since. Recently, the four of us were on a Zoom call, along with his team and Susan’s team, and it didn’t go so well.?

Though Susan was leading the call, it quickly became a platform for the customer to unleash a barrage of complaints: He was aggrieved about our process, dissatisfied with our handling of the purchase, and unhappy with Susan personally. In short, he claimed that the reason the product hadn’t been implemented was that we had mishandled it. As soon as he finished the sentence, I received a Zoom message from Susan that simply said, “He’s lying.”??

This merely confirmed what I already knew: Susan and her team can’t finish this project because the client keeps changing his mind, not delivering on his side of things, and introducing new requirements that “need to be addressed.” She’s been handling this account since purchase, and she’s always thoroughly documented every aspect of each interaction before sharing them with me as soon as the project inevitably veers off schedule.??

Susan tried valiantly to bring everybody back onto the same page by walking us through their interactions since last October. But, as soon as she did, the customer got, for lack of a better word, shitty. His language and tone grew abrasive, and he shut her down by noting, “We don’t need the history. We just need to move forward.” The call continued downhill from there. To her credit, she was incredibly clear and professional, saying things like, “That wasn’t our understanding based on the email from X date,” and “Our communication with Y shows that…” But the more she tried to advocate and make her position, the more irate he became. This went on for forty minutes. At one point, the customer even yelled at her to shut up. It was pretty obvious that she was crying by the end of the call, and I feel terrible about it.?

Although I am confident that Susan’s done her best with this difficult customer, I’m reluctant to risk this incredibly important account just because her feelings are hurt. Though I do feel a bit ashamed of myself for not stepping up or standing up for Susan, I’d like to point out that no one on her team did either. In the moment, it felt like the best way to keep the customer was to let them say their piece. However, on further reflection, I’m worried that I’ve alienated one of my best employees. To make the whole thing worse, Susan has indicated she needs to file a harassment claim over this, though I doubt she has grounds to do so. I’m not sure what I could have done differently, if anything, or whether I should have done anything differently. I’m hoping you can provide some perspective.?

Sincerely,?

Just Trying to Do What’s Right?

Dear Right,?

Sorry to break it to you, but no matter how much money this account is worth, you’re in the wrong here. (Maybe you should change your name?) What follows may sound harsh, but I think you need to hear it.?

I understand how difficult it is to deal with customers like this, and I can absolutely see the thought process that got you to this point: “I have to get a handle on this because I’m going to lose the client and we’re going to lose a bunch of money.” But freezing up and letting it slide is not okay. What you’ve actually done is open your company up to harassment suits, betrayed your employees and their faith in you, and allowed your client to run roughshod over what sounds like a valuable employee. Bending over so far backwards to be diplomatic has turned you around 180°.??

You watched someone bully one of your employees for almost an hour and did nothing about it.? As soon as that customer started in on Susan, it was high time for you to step up. It’s clear that the customer was not operating in good faith on this call – he came into the meeting determined to make his narrative the truth, and you emboldened his bad behavior by gifting him a false sense of credibility. The customer is now poised to continually decide that his truth can become the truth, regardless of what you do. Worse, everyone on his team is now also empowered to deploy the same behavior going forward. If this account is as valuable as you say, that’s a big problem.??

Bending over so far backwards to be diplomatic has turned you around 180°

It sounds like Susan and her team spent two years establishing baseline expectations and processes to safely handle this difficult customer. Pat yourself on the back: you managed to singlehandedly torpedo all that work in 40 minutes. And, based on the end of your letter, I’m betting that in that same brief span of time, you also managed to completely erode any trust or respect that your team had in you as a manger.??

I’m troubled that you only recognize the damage of what you’ve done “on further reflection,” because it sounds like what you’re really saying is, “I’m backtracking because Susan is considering legal action, not because I actually recognize how seriously I mishandled this call.” Even your retelling of the story focuses too heavily on what Susan did or didn’t do – leaving yourself with almost no responsibility for the outcome.??

So, let me be clear: Susan is not the reason you’re facing potential legal trouble. You are.??

By not standing up for her or properly representing your organization, you’ve exposed your company and your customer to Susan’s harassment claim (because harassment doesn’t only come from within the company, right?). An employee can feel threatened or made uncomfortable by a customer, partner, vendor, whomever. It’s the employer’s responsibility to protect that employee, and you didn’t do that. Shame on you.??

It’s the employer’s responsibility to protect [the] employee

If you want to fix this conversation and mitigate the repercussions, you need to start by setting the record straight with the customer and calling them on their bullshit. Make it clear that it’s not appropriate to talk to any representatives of your company this way, that you’re aware he’s lying, and let him know how things will work moving forward. Then comes the hard part: You have to actually stand by your words.??

Sincerely,?

Mike?

In today's business climate, it’s healthy to feel unsure at least a few times a week. If you’d like some input on a difficult workplace scenario, send a DM or leave me a question anonymously . Over 25 years as a serial fintech entrepreneur, I've averted my share of disasters. Schedule a consultation with me and we can outsmart your avalanches together.?