When You Have Client Complaints, Think Witchcraft
The customer is always right. Or so the old saying goes. Does that mean the best way to deal with client complaints is to give them whatever they want?
Let me answer that with a story.
A long time ago, back when I was in high school, I was an artist. Or at least that’s what my shirt said. And it happened to have “Sandwich” in front of that word.
On my first day, the boss gave a group of us a quick rundown. The only thing that stuck with me was his lecture on client complaints. “The customer isn’t always right,” he told us emphatically. “They’re only right within reason. Sometimes, you have to say no.”
Finding Balance
People are–if I put it charitably–different. No matter how good a product is, there will be client complaints. I’m sure a few people would give clean air a 1-star review if there was some world review system.
Which brings me to witchcraft.
Harry Potter is one of the most beloved book series in the world. It has truly been a phenomenon, and will continue to be one for years to come. And yet, if you were to pull up Amazon, it still has plenty of 1 star reviews.
Some client complaints are stupid, like “I thought this was the illustrated version.” 1 Star. Nothing indicated the product was illustrated. No matter what assumptions that person made, they were wrong, and they’ll be wrong with your product, too.
But then there’s this one:
“It’s witchcraft.” 1 Star.
J.K. Rowling is never, ever going to make that person happy with her books. It’s just not going to happen. The reviewer thinks it’s witchcraft (and with 1 star, I’m assuming the person finds witchcraft distasteful), and that’s the end of the story.
If J.K. Rowling were to focus on that review rather than the tens of thousands of good reviews, we would not have the amazing series we have today.
And just like that witchcraft person hates Harry Potter, some people WILL hate your product.
Don’t Take It Personally
Movie trope time.
Whenever the big corporate fat cat villain does something completely horrific, he says (and it is always a he), “It’s business, not personal.”
The movie almost always has some moral about how it IS personal. As a sole practitioner, when you basically ARE the business, it can certainly feel that way.
But here’s the thing…the stereotypical corporate fat cat has a point.
When someone is attacking what you’ve done, it sucks. It absolutely terrible But you have to keep in mind that you are NOT your product.
You are not your artwork. You are not your music. You are not your book.
They are not attacking you! Chances are, they don’t even know you!
This can get even more difficult with so many anonymous internet psychopaths trying to make it seem personal. If someone says “I can’t believe someone let this Tim guy on camera. He’s fat and old and terrible,” it certainly feels like they are attacking me.
But really, they’re not. They’re upset about something, and rather than communicating it like a civil person, they’re lashing out.
I can’t take it personally. Though I do feel a little like getting on a treadmill…
What To Do
When you’re dealing with client complaints, you do the best you can. If you screwed up, try to make it right. If you didn’t screw up, still try to make it right.
But remember, they’re not attacking you, no matter how mad they are. Think of the 1-star witchcraft review. Sometimes, there’s nothing you can do to make a person happy. And with those kinds of clients, sometimes the only thing you can do is walk away.
