4 Things You Should Never Tell Your Customers

A little bit of customer care advice for you today. Remember our current customers are our top asset when it comes to marketing our businesses, so keeping them as our fans is essential.

So here’s some things you should never say to them…these are all things that have been said to us in the past, which have left a bit of a bad taste in our mouths. Comment below any you may want to add.

ACTION: Think about all of these as you are reading, and make notes of ways you could potentially improve your communication with your customers.

Number 1. “You aren’t a priority.” OK – this can be very very true. Some customers hold a higher priority over other customers at certain points in time. However, nobody wants to be told they aren’t a priority, so you need to talk with a bit more tact. Try something like “I have scheduled time in on X day to work on your project” so the customer know you have some dedicated time to work on theirs.

Number 2. “You don’t know what you are talking about.” Or words to this affect. Yes you are the expert and know-it-all customers can be very annoying, however you need to massage their ego a little, while putting yourself across as the expert. You don’t want to make customers feel stupid. So try something like “That’s a good idea, but in my experience maybe something like this would work better.”

Number 3. “I can’t do that.” You should try to avoid negative language. Sometimes we get asked to do things we can’t do, but if you just say “No”, then that not only disappoints the customers but has them questioning your expertise. Instead explain why you can’t do what has been asked, make some suggestions of alternatives, or even explain who the customer needs to be talking too to do what has been asked. It may turn out collaboration is a way to expand your business.

Number 4. “I’ll do that today” (if your schedule is already full). Don’t make promises you can’t keep. Keeping a good schedule is important for customer care, so try to show your customers this is how you work from the get go. Then when you get asked to do something, give yourself some breathing time to get it done (unless it is super urgent), then if you do get it done before time you look much better in the customers eyes.