It happens very rarely, and we never take the issue lightly, but on occasion (maybe once a year) we have "fired" a customer or two. Personally, I don't think its a bad thing. In fact, I think every thriving business needs to fire or reject a customer at some point.

There are at least two reasons I can think of for taking this action.

Bad Fit

Let's face it, there are times when your product simply doesn't match up with what the customer really wants. Square peg, round hole. It's as simple as that. Ideally, you want to find this out before the sale, but that doesn't always happen. Our services can accommodate the majority of photographers' needs. But, when we realize a customer's needs extend beyond what we can do or offer, we simply let them know. There are never hard feelings. If anything, there is respect.

Bad Manners

Believe it or not, there are few people in this world who didn't learn good manners from their mom and dad. I can't explain it–I can only draw a line. We understand the state of customer service in American business is poor (at best). This makes people frustrated–it makes me frustrated. However, there seems to be a tiny group of people who go beyond frustrated and into perpetual nastiness. There's only so much berating, threatening, and condescension you should allow your staff to take. If everyone's miserable, its best to just break up.

Tell Us a Story

Have you ever fired or rejected a customer for one of the above reasons? Tell us what happened.

Are there other reasons for firing a customer?

Leave us a comment ... and don't be like this guy