Have too much work on? Turning work away and keeping a customer happy
So the other day I blogged about having too much work on, and the effects of that on your business and your personal life. One of the ways to deal with excess work is to turn work away.
I know. It seems counter-intuitive. But sometimes it's better for you and your business to just say no. But you don't have to lose that customer, and neither do you have to damage your company's reputation by doing so. So what's the trick?
First things first - it's important to look at the source of the job. If it's come from a newspaper ad or directory listing, you'll have to take these steps. If it's come from Service Central, you'll be able to eliminate the really impossible jobs simply by not accepting the job lead when you're too busy (unless of course you desperately want that particular job, in which case see my next blog article). For customers who come from any other marketing source, you'll need to employ these tactics.
Saying no
When a customer is turned away, the first thing to be aware of is their natural human process of speculating 'why'. A customer will ask themselves (and usually speculate aloud to their friends) about why you would advertise and then turn a job away. So answer their internal speculation up front with a valid explanation.
Make it about your concerns for your business's quality
Your explanation doesn't have to be long and involved, but make sure that it includes the reasoning that if you took the work on, you wouldn't be able to do as high-quality job as you would usually. This doesn't just apply to their job, it also applies to the other jobs you've already got booked. Now by not being pushy and irritable, that customer has a reason to feel good about themselves - because they're making sure that someone in the queue before them isn't being negatively affected.
Now this is what I would term 'pop psychology' and is based purely in my head - not in any actual science. But it makes sense, and in my experience it works. The best thing about it is that it's not manipulative - it's the truth. All you're doing is making sure the customer gets to feel good about the time they've wasted by contacting your company.
Where complications arise
If you've actively solicited their job and now you have to turn it down, it could become a little trickier. You might need a better explanation than the above, depending on how much time of theirs you've wasted and how committed you've been. I'm going to use a 'dating' analogy even though I've been married for many many (many) years. If you simply asked them out, they said yes, and you cancelled in advance, the above explanation would probably work with no hard feelings. If you've lead them on with promises of marriage (well at least, that's what it was in my day), then you must grovel. Or at least apologise and give a more detailed explanation addressing why you committed when you weren't actually able to.
If you can, refer your customer to someone else
If a customer is using a directory service or a classified ad to phone people, they'll appreciate a referral to a company that you know. Recommend only good quality businesses, and think about generating some income from referrals or even a mutually beneficial relationship like I described in my article about handling sick days.
Now a 'don't' or two
A significant portion of the customer feedback we've received over the years are related to companies who win the work and book it in but simply don't turn up or contact the customer. No matter how 'committed' you've been (whether you've spoken with the customer, committed to do the work, or they've simply contacted you) don't just ignore a customer.
Many businesses get phonecalls, emails, and queries via their websites and simply don't return calls or answer queries. Sometimes businesses get so busy that they simply can't start the job on time, but don't address this head on with the customer. You may think that it's okay, because there's a never-ending supply of new customers, or losing one customer here and there isn't so bad. In the grand scheme of things, yes, every business makes mistakes and drops a ball here and there. But in today's consumer empowered culture it's far more dangerous to inconvenience one customer than it ever was before. One customer can use the power of the internet to name and shame your business, so it's no longer just the few friends that person might tell. It could be the whole world.
Alternatives
This series is about what to do when your business simply has too much business, and this option isn't the only one. Have a read about my blog around generating more capacity here, and stand by for more ideas (yes, there are always more ideas!).
