How To Treat Customers Like The Enemy

It’s not easy to find a job these days, so if you’re having trouble finding work, it may be time to start your own business. 

You’ll need a good idea and some hard work to succeed, but there are many ways that you can make sure your company doesn’t grow too big or too fast. You can also use these tips to keep customers away from your store and improve the overall ambiance of the place.

Takeaways
1. Avoid adopting an adversarial mindset towards customers.
2. Focus on building strong customer relationships.
3. Provide exceptional customer service to create positive experiences.
4. Listen actively to customer feedback and address concerns.
5. Strive for transparency and ethical treatment of customers.
6. Turn dissatisfied customers into loyal advocates through effective resolution.
7. Recognize the importance of long-term customer loyalty for business success.

1. Treat Them Like Criminals

I am not a lawyer, but I have worked in the legal field and my experience is that you should never trust your customers to do the right thing. 

It’s better to assume that they are trying to trick you or lie about something, because if they aren’t, then you’re going to look like an idiot for assuming otherwise. 

When I worked as a paralegal at a firm, our policies were so strict (and occasionally contradictory) that I couldn’t give any kind of advice without fear of being sued later on by some poor sap who misunderstood something I said on accident.

Looking to showcase your copywriting skills? Learn effective strategies for pitching your services on popular platforms like Quora. Explore our guide on pitching copywriting services on Quora to gain insights into successful self-promotion.

2. Give Everyone A User Name And Password

You may not think this is a big deal, but many companies do not have unique usernames and passwords for each customer. Imagine if you were to come in one day, and someone else was using your username! 

Or even worse, imagine if someone called you by the wrong username? These situations can be very awkward for both parties involved, so make sure that every team member has an account that cannot be accessed by anyone else. 

Also, make sure all of your employees are trained on how to use these accounts responsibly; it’s no fun having access to sensitive information when there’s no way of knowing what might happen with it down the road!

Be sure also that each employee has their unique identifier as well this includes not only usernames but also whatever other identifiers might exist within the company such as phone numbers or email addresses (which should also never be shared between teams).

3. Don’t Allow Customers To Cancel A Service Online

Customers can’t cancel their service online. Instead, they have to call a phone number and navigate through an automated system that asks questions meant to help the customer find the right option.

But also designed to keep them on hold longer than necessary to make it less likely that they’ll hang up.

This is bad because:

Customers are not allowed to use any of your company’s digital interfaces for something as simple as canceling their service. This makes it harder for them and forces them into using the “old” way of doing things (calling).

You’re forcing customers into using an obsolete method of communication when you could be making things easier by allowing cancellations via email or messenger apps like WhatsApp or WeChat instead.

Direct marketing is a powerful tool for creative professionals to connect with their target audience. Discover essential techniques in our comprehensive guide to direct marketing for creative professionals, and learn how to create impactful campaigns that resonate with your clientele.

4. Stop Emailing Customers

Email should be your customer service tool of choice. Sending emails is how you’ll get your message across the fastest, and it’s a great way to help customers find what they’re looking for on your website.

In addition to being efficient, email has another huge benefit: it’s asynchronous. 

That means that you can send messages at any time and customers can read them when it’s convenient for them meaning you don’t have to wait for them to be sitting down in front of their computer before starting a conversation with them!

The trick here is not waiting until someone contacts you first because chances are they won’t reach out unless there’s an issue on their end or if they just happen upon something interesting while browsing around online (which isn’t very likely). 

You should proactively reach out whenever possible this will help ensure that everyone gets timely responses from both sides of this relationship.

5. Remove The Contact Information On Your Website

Make sure your contact information is easy to find. If a customer has to search for your contact information over and over again, they’ll get frustrated and probably give up.

Make sure your contact information is easy to understand. You need to make sure that the person reading it knows exactly what you want them to do with it (call, email, fill out a form). 

If there is any confusion about what’s expected of them or how they should react after contacting you, then finding out won’t be worth their time or yours!

Make sure your contact information is easy to use. If the customer can’t easily figure out how they’re supposed to get in touch with you through the method(s) provided on your website, then again.

They’ll likely give up and go elsewhere instead of dealing with all that hassle just so they can complain about something trivial like service delivery speed being too slow (but hey! At least I’m still alive! So we’ve got that going for us…).

Ensure consistency across all channels by making sure everything matches up well enough between each channel so as not to confuse people later down the line when trying something new outside their comfort zone; 

This includes using the same words/phrases consistently across these mediums rather than mixing them up randomly without rhyme or reason (e.,g., “contact us” vs “get in touch”). 

It shouldn’t matter whether someone comes from Facebook ads promoting instant 10% off coupon codes versus coming directly from Google search results where there’s no clear indication of which type of searcher would be most interested in seeing such an offer.

The message should remain consistent regardless what path took place beforehand.”We are always available 24/7 via phone call at…”

Enhance your marketing efforts with actionable tips and strategies. Check out our list of 16 things you can do today to market better to revitalize your approach and boost your brand’s visibility.

6. Make Customers Visit Your Office In Person

It’s not just about making customers come to you it’s also about making it difficult for them to reach you by phone. If customers can reach you easily, they may be under the illusion that they don’t need your help as much and will cancel the service. 

To prevent this from happening, remove all phone numbers from the website and make it impossible for customers to cancel services online. 

This way, when a customer needs help with something technical or billing related, they have no choice but to go into an office building where their problems can be solved by an employee who has been trained on how best to treat people like enemies!

7. Make It Impossible For Customers To Reach You By Phone

If a customer gets through to you on the phone, you’re probably making it difficult for them.

If your phone system doesn’t allow calls to be transferred to another department or person, that could be why your call volume is so low. If people can’t leave messages, they hang up and go somewhere else. 

Your signs should say “all sales are final” and there should be no return policy whatsoever or at least make returns as difficult as possible (like requiring customers to fill out an online form with all relevant information about their purchase before being allowed to return it).

8. Don’t Answer Emails

If you’re a company that makes products or services, you have customers who will email you with questions or concerns. 

It’s tempting to answer these emails quickly and on the spot, but this can result in some awkward situations–ones that are sure to make your customers feel like they’re being treated like an enemy instead of a potential friend.

One example: I once had a customer who was upset at me because she hadn’t gotten her package yet. 

I apologized profusely, said it would be sent out immediately, and then hung up the phone without answering any of her questions about how much longer she should wait for it before calling again (because I didn’t want her calling back). 

She didn’t call again for two weeks…and then when she did call back? Well…

9. Hire New Employees Who Have Never Worked In Customer Service Positions Before

This is a tough one, but it’s important to remember that companies hire people with no experience in customer service jobs because they want their employees to learn on the job. 

If a person has worked in customer service before, they might not be open to learning something new or different. 

When new employees are hired without any experience in the field, they will try harder than anyone else would because they want to prove themselves right off the bat.

• Candidates with no experience in customer service jobs
• Candidates who have no experience with customer service jobs
• Candidates who have no experience in customer service positions

10. Train The New Employees To Be As Unhelpful As Possible

Train the new employees to be as unhelpful as possible. Don’t give them any training, or if you do, tell them to read a manual that’s one step away from being written by an automated spell-checker.

And don’t let anyone help them learn how to do their job better, because then they might be able to do more than simply take orders and make food (and perhaps even earn some tips). And we can’t have that! 

That would mean customers would have a decent dining experience, which would defeat the purpose of treating customers like enemies!

Are you new to Twitter advertising? Discover a step-by-step plan to kickstart your journey. Our article on getting your first 1000 of advertising on Twitter offers insights and strategies for effectively utilizing this platform.

11. Remove Free Samples From Your Store Or Website

Free samples are a great way to get people to try your product, and they’re also an effective way to convince people who already know and like your product to buy more of it. 

This is because sampling helps customers understand how the product will fit into their lives, which makes them more confident in their decision.

If you want to be able to treat your customers like the enemy by making them pay for every little thing, then removing free samples from your store or website might sound like good business sense (because why would anyone ever want free stuff?). 

However, if you want repeat business and loyal customers not just one-time sales then we strongly recommend leaving this practice in place!

12. Make Online Purchases As Difficult As Possible For Customers

This is the perfect way to make customers feel like they’re not welcome or appreciated. After all, if you make it difficult for them to place an order, they’ll just take their business elsewhere. 

If you want to improve customer satisfaction and loyalty, try making your site easy and convenient for people who want to buy from you.

13. Have Employees Stand Around Instead Of Working With Customers

This one is pretty self-explanatory, but it’s important to note that employees should be working with the customer. This is especially true if you want them to make sales! If your employees are just standing around instead of helping customers, then you’re doing it wrong.

They could also be doing other tasks: like using their time wisely and working on tasks related to the company mission statement. 

They could also be doing nothing at all, which means they’re not wasting valuable time by talking with customers or working hard on something productive that will benefit the company as a whole (like watching TV).

Employees can also learn new skills by training one another in areas where they both have an interest (like playing video games). They may even take turns teaching each other things like how to get more followers on social media or become more popular among their peers at work.”

14. Put Up Signs That Say “We Don’t Accept Returns” 

• Make sure there is a sign above every check-out lane stating, “We do not accept returns nor exchanges for any reason.”
• Make sure there is a sign in every cash register explaining why customers are charged a restocking fee if they try to return an item.

15. Remove Live Chat Support Options From Your Business 

Live chat support is a great way for customers to contact your business and get the answers they need. It’s also a great tool for you to learn more about your customers and their needs, wants, and expectations.

Because of this, you may find yourself tempted to leave live chat buttons on every possible page of your website, or at least some of them. 

But don’t do it! Live chat can sometimes be an annoying interruption for customers who just want to read about what your company does without having someone interrupt them with questions when they’re not ready for them yet (in other words: most visitors).

Leverage the power of Instagram to expand your business’s reach and engagement. Dive into our guide on using Instagram marketing to grow your business to learn practical tips and tactics for building a successful presence on this visual platform.

Conclusion

At this point, it’s clear that the companies who aren’t trying to learn from users and connect with them on their terms are going to lose out. 

These days, customers have a lot of power – they can use social media, forums, and blog posts to spread their opinions about a brand in a matter of minutes. If you treat them like the enemy instead of your biggest asset, you won’t have much left when they turn against you.

Further Reading

Is the Customer the Enemy?: Explore the ethical implications of perceiving customers as adversaries and the potential consequences of such perspectives.

How Customers Become the Worst Enemies or the Best Friends: Learn about the factors that can turn customers into strong advocates or detractors for your business.

Ten Tips for Dealing with Customers: Discover practical advice to effectively manage customer interactions and enhance their experience with your business.

FAQs

Is it common for businesses to view customers as adversaries?

Perceptions of customers as adversaries are not uncommon in certain contexts, but it’s important for businesses to adopt a customer-centric approach to ensure long-term success.

How can businesses turn customers into their best allies?

By providing exceptional products, services, and customer experiences, businesses can transform customers into loyal advocates who promote their brand.

What are some strategies for handling difficult customer interactions?

Effective strategies for managing challenging customer interactions include active listening, empathy, problem-solving, and timely communication.

How can businesses balance the need for profit with ethical customer treatment?

Businesses can prioritize ethical customer treatment by adopting transparent practices, maintaining open communication, and ensuring fair value exchange.

What role does customer feedback play in shaping business-customer relationships?

Customer feedback is invaluable for businesses seeking to understand customer preferences, address concerns, and continuously improve their offerings and services.