Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 25 of 36
  1. #1

    Problem Customer

    Hi

    I have this customer, his payment methods are legit, and his sites are legit.

    The problem is whenever he logs a support ticket it usually includes a significant amount of abusive language.

    Now I've been prepared to make do with this before, I've also warned him before not to use such language when dealing with my staff, however he has taken no heed to my warnings and still continues to use obscene language.

    What would be the best course of action do you think ?


    Matt

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Mar 2004
    Location
    England
    Posts
    819
    How many support tickets does he log? Really if you're only getting a couple a month I should think the revenue he brings is probably greater than the stress a few swear words cause you.

    Naturally, I have no clue just how abusive he's being. But you should have something in your TOS/AUP that covers abuse towards staff but we've never needed to remind customers of or enforce that section of our TOS ever, nice to have it though.

    Andrew
    NetHosted - UK based hosting solutions.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jul 2004
    Posts
    43
    NetSender: would you mind posting one of his tickets (take the name and all that out of course) so we can see exactly what you are talking about.

    Abusive customers can be hard to deal with. You just have to remember that you offer a service world wide. Which means you will be dealing with a lot of diverse people., which include the rude customers as well. I would keep working through it and keep your head on your shoulders.

    You can always choose not to support the individual in a professional manor if he is not willing to professionally ask for it. Telling him that using such language is not appreciated and will not make things go any faster may help detere him in the future
    Jonathan C.

  4. #4
    Just a few excerpts from IM conversations:

    "
    xxxxxx: i cant send emails
    Netsender Internet Services: I'm Alan, I can only provide Sales advising
    Netsender Internet Services: If you need technical support I advise you use the helpdesk
    xxxxxx: .
    xxxxxx: **** thats ******** good day
    Netsender Internet Services: I'm sorry ????
    xxxxxx Signs Off "


    "
    xxxxx: why the hell is your server down dont give me some **** reasion i pay good money for it and it goses down
    "

    Note : Server wasnt down, he had just edited his DNS records incorrectly and thus his domain ceased to point to our server.

    I mean I cant expect my staff to put up with this kind of language/abuse.

    He usually logs at least 5 a month, and has been up to 1 a day sometimes, directing all problems at us, when the majority have been caused by his own mistakes, e.g. permissions on scripts, incorrect cPanel Email setup.

    He's on a $5 a month package.


    Matt

  5. #5
    Greetings Matt:

    We have a customer like that who would go off the wall in emails to our staff or on the phone.

    Our director of customer service called him up, and asked him to make an immediate choice -- leave or be nice. That was back in June 2004. He is still with us, and is nice.

    Thank you.
    ---
    Peter M. Abraham
    LinkedIn Profile

  6. #6
    ah it looks as if the automatic filters on this board have starred out the offensive words.
    Netsender
    for UK Hosting : http://www.netsender.co.uk
    for USA Hosting : http://www.netsender.net

  7. #7
    We have asked him to "be nice" on many occasions in the past, and have threatened termination of service. Still he doesnt seem to take heed to our advice.


    Matt
    Netsender
    for UK Hosting : http://www.netsender.co.uk
    for USA Hosting : http://www.netsender.net

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Mar 2004
    Location
    England
    Posts
    819
    Sounds like you're coming here with your mind made up and you're just looking for universal agreement that you should get rid of him

    If he's causing you more hassle then you think he's worth then give him one last, final, official email warning then next time suspend/delete him.

    Andrew
    NetHosted - UK based hosting solutions.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Aug 2002
    Location
    Illinois
    Posts
    848
    Hmm,

    I can't say I have any customers like that. But, be firm like you seem to be doing.
    Max

  10. #10
    Greetings Matt:

    1. Was asking done via the phone (it can make a difference)?

    2. If he continued to abuse, did you terminate services?

    If not, then it was a threat backed up by nothing.

    Thank you.
    ---
    Peter M. Abraham
    LinkedIn Profile

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Nov 2002
    Location
    Toronto, Canada
    Posts
    111
    $5 bucks a month is not worth that type of hassle. The swearing I can handle, fixing a customer's mistakes I can handle, but if a customer makes a mistake and then swears at me for it I'd send them packing. Especially if this is routine behaviour on their part.
    Sorry, I'm not a girl, and I'm definately no "Babe" :-)

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Nov 2001
    Posts
    5,383
    Terminate him, don't take sh*t from anyone. You have the right to refuse service.

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Feb 2001
    Location
    West Michigan, USA
    Posts
    9,687
    Our Terms of Service states that we will not tolerate abuse of any kind. I demand that my staff treat all customers with respect, so it is unfair to subject them to abuse.

    If a customer is hostile, we politely point them to our Terms of Service regarding abuse and tell them that we would be more than happy to help them. If it continues, I terminate the account and refund the customer.

    I think we've had to do this MAYBE 3 times in 7 years.

    --Tina
    ||| 99.999% Uptime SLA!!!
    Plenty of space and bandwidth to fit your needs!
    www.AEIandYou.com - - (WP Friendly - Premium Reseller Hosting and Cheap Dedicated Servers)

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Apr 2002
    Location
    UK
    Posts
    429
    I'd get shot of him. If a person doesn't have the common decency or professionalism to communicate without abuse then I don't don't want to do business with them.

    Unless of course they're paying me $1million, in which case they can abuse me all day and come round and beat me with sticks if they like!

  15. #15
    Join Date
    Jul 2004
    Posts
    43
    Originally posted by disoft
    Unless of course they're paying me $1million, in which case they can abuse me all day and come round and beat me with sticks if they like!
    Give me %50 and i'll join you in that flogging
    Jonathan C.

  16. #16
    Join Date
    Nov 2001
    Location
    Atlanta, GA
    Posts
    633
    As he might put it: **** that.

    Drop him like a rock. You can loose $10 a month to get some stress out of your life
    Former owner of A Small Orange
    New owner of <COMING SOON>

  17. #17
    Join Date
    Jul 2001
    Location
    .INdiana
    Posts
    2,465
    offer "a customer" for sale in the advertising section . ha

  18. #18
    Join Date
    Oct 2002
    Location
    PA
    Posts
    364
    Your staff works hard. Don't ruin their day by keeping this abusive customer around
    Netrillium.com, Inc.
    http://www.netrillium.com
    Since 2002

  19. #19
    Join Date
    Sep 2002
    Posts
    708
    Drop him. The verbal damage and abuse the client is giving your staff exceed the $5 he is giving you.

  20. #20
    Join Date
    Dec 2003
    Location
    metropolis
    Posts
    383
    chances are he knows that he can get away with this with you and he is enjoying it to some degree... for a mere $5 amonth

    let him go...
    Last edited by cnm72; 08-05-2004 at 08:59 PM.
    [[[[ ---CNM--- ]]]]

  21. #21
    I have a problematic customer but ever since I politely told her off that she was wronglyaccusing me of not giving support, she backed off.

    I think the best thing to do if you don't want to get rid of this customer is "I'm sorry we can't give you further support if this kind of language continues on".
    Protagonist WebHosting Services
    Blog Hosting solutions:: Cpanel with Rvskin & Fantastico Deluxe
    Providing Reliable Hosting since 2002

  22. #22
    We have asked him to "be nice" on many occasions in the past, and have threatened termination of service. Still he doesnt seem to take heed to our advice.
    Regardless of whether one would normally fire a customer for abuse language, you need to say what you mean and do what you say. You've provided the ultimatum. He hasn't stopped. You need to follow through and terminate the account.
    RimuHosting.com - VPS Hosting and Dedicated Server Hosting since 2003
    Pingability.com - Peace of Mind Web Site Monitoring

  23. #23
    Join Date
    Jan 2004
    Location
    Singapore
    Posts
    1,032
    After reading this thread, I have this feeling that this customer of yours is paying you so that he can enjoy his abusing....

    Sometimes, customers pay a few dollars but demand a few million dollars worth of service....
    If he is not worth it, AXE him off.

    OR you can post a "Abusive customer for Sale" in the Offers section
    -=- GQ Hong -=-
    GalacNet WebMaster

  24. #24
    Originally posted by dynamicnet
    Greetings Matt:

    1. Was asking done via the phone (it can make a difference)?

    2. If he continued to abuse, did you terminate services?

    If not, then it was a threat backed up by nothing.

    Thank you.
    This post sums up the whole situation. If you didn't back it up with action then he's going to keep doing it.

  25. #25
    Join Date
    Apr 2003
    Location
    Bluesquare dc, Uk
    Posts
    1,591
    Hello Matt,

    I had a customer like this a while back. Not so much rude, but incredibly rude and sarcastic.

    In this case the customer was paying even less than you have now. In this case the the customer was of age.

    In your case, judging by the use of the English, poor grammar and spelling, this is a child of 14 or 15.

    I can imagine every time an email comes in right now, in the back of your mind you are wishing it isn't him, with a hint of dread. Every time he does contact you, you are getting very stressed up.

    So right now you are letting an obnoxious kid (my personal feelings are that his parents ought to be terminating his allowance ), upset you for $5.

    Make sure you do this by the book, and it's not a knee jerk reaction, for in this situation it's very easy to let your heart rule your mind. Wait for the next abuse- because it will come, and send an official warning, quote all his abuse, reference to your terms and conditions, quoting it. State quite clearly that if the abuse does not continue, you will give him 5 days to find a new host.

    Depending on his character, you'll either get an abusive email back. Which of course, equals win.

    Or he'll play ball/

    Good luck with kindergarten
    Olly | INX-Gaming
    Call of Duty 4 hosting

Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •