Five Types Of Individuals To Look Out For

When it comes to creating a passionate custo/member experience, there will always be some who just don’t get it or don’t want it. From one perspective or another, they can be considered to be abusive. What’s one to do with these folks? I would suggest that they be given the boot. Not literally, but when it comes to devoting time, money, and spirit to building a faithful and enthusiastic custo/member base these folks need not enter into the equation. What types of folks should we be on the look out for? From a consultant perspective, Christopher Hawkins points out 11 types of clients to fire. Most of these sound familiar to those of us in association membership and equally familiar to those who perform any time of customer service work. Taking a cue from Christopher’s 11 types, here’s a related view of the kind of folks who need to get far less of our attention (or none at all):The Disillusioned. This is an individual who constantly expresses disappointment despite the fact that the product or service is of good quality and delivers on what was promised. Complaining is one thing, but this custo/member constantly looks for problems and only rarely offers appreciation. This is the person that sucks the joy from work and needs to be jettisoned as quickly as possible.

The Suspicious. This is an individual who doesn’t trust you or the organization. Yes, sometimes an association or business breaks it’s promise and deserves the accompanying suspicion from its custo/members. However, this type of person is something different: the Suspicious doesn’t trust your knowledge or expertise. Since our work is “so easy,” they assume they could do far better.

The Chiseler. Always a favorite of mine, this is the individual who is constantly on the lookout for a discount or a way to chip away at the price of membership or a service. Yes, it could be that the association or business is not marketing value well enough. However, we all have experienced the person who just won’t pay full price for anything. When it comes time to figure out what a custo/member is worth, this type of individual creates far more work than what they offer in return.

The Flake. Otherwise known as the Unaccountable, this custo/member is believes only side should be held to responsibility. More often than not, you’ll find volunteers and vendors who fit this mold. They’ll backtrack out of a commitment they made, but keep you forever accountable for your own commitments.

The Bully. I left the best for last. The bully seems to forget some of the basic tenents of humanity like “were all human.” That it’s okay to be abusive. That getting your way is the only way. If you come across a bully, quickly refund any money and politely let them know that you and your association or business can live without them. Trust me, you can.

If we apply a form of the Pareto Principle here, you can get caught up in working with this 20% (including the other nonvaluable) of your custo/members 80% of the time. Better to give them the boot and concentrate on the faithful, the passionate ones; those who genuinely love what you are doing and can’t wait to tell others about it. This is where the juice really is.