I recently witnessed a customer who could be described as certifiable. I was interviewing a Branch Manager when I heard the screams of an irate customer outside the office. They were yelling so loudly that their high-pitched voice echoed throughout the entire branch. I, and everyone else in the branch, could hear what they were saying:
I’m in a hurry and don’t think I should have to wait in this line-up. (The line-up was under 5 minutes).
What is wrong with you people – don’t you know who I am? (The individual was certainly not anyone worth knowing!)
I can’t believe that you are making me wait – don’t you know I am going on a vacation! (Huh, boy this person needs more than a vacation!)
I quietly watched, as the Manager I was interviewing stepped out of her office and dealt with the unreasonable demands of a customer. She remained calm. She remained professional and above all else she made her staff feel better even though they had come in contact with such a difficult customer.
We all know that if these individuals are not handled properly they can sap the life out of the employees who have to deal with them on a regular basis. After having experienced this completely unreasonable customer – I frankly wondered how the frontline employee could ever enjoy their job.
We recently came across a post that highlighted that there is now a test that can help assess whether or not a client is a certified &#$##@@&!. You can use the test to help decide if it is worth the trouble to keep working with a client. You can use it to screen future clients or you can take the ACHE as a self-test to see if you are causing the problem.
Click Here to take the test developed by Bob Sutton and see how many of your clients are certifiable!
