How to Fire a Client

Have you ever had to fire a client? Chances are, if you’ve been in business for any amount of time, you have. It’s unpleasant but sometimes necessary for the health of your business and for your own sanity. In this post I want to share with you a story about a client firing that I was part of, only I wasn’t the one firing the client, I was the client.

My husband and I were planning a long overdue weekend away in a town about 3 hours from where we live. It had been a busy and stressful few weeks and we were looking forward to kicking back at the hotel, wandering out when we wanted to explore and trying some of the local cuisine. In 4 short hours we would be closing our computers, getting into the car and heading out of town for our weekend getaway.

Then I got the text.

It was from my pet sitter. They were predicting snow for that evening and warning people that the roads might be icy. She was concerned because she didn’t have a 4-wheel drive vehicle, she lived at a much higher altitude than us so roads might be slick and our driveway was unpaved and presumably treacherous. She wanted to let me know that she might or might not be able to make it that evening to take care of the animals.

Let’s break this down.

1. Weather had been predicted for days, she chose to contact me 4 hours before we were leaving.
2. “She said she didn’t have a 4-wheel drive vehicle.” When we had done the Meet and Greet a couple of months earlier, she had arrived in a 4-wheel drive pick-up truck. I made a note of it as I make notes of everything.
3. “She lived at a much higher altitude than us.” In reality she lives 5 minutes from us at the same altitude (I looked it up).
4. “Our driveway was treacherous.” Yes, we do have an unpaved driveway but it is flat, nicely graded and completely safe. I regularly drive it in my non 4-wheel drive vehicle in all kinds of weather.

I immediately called her. I suspected the reasons she had given were excuses and that she simply didn’t want to venture out in the bad weather on a Friday night.  I fully believed that once we talked through it, she would honor her commitment and we would be on our way shortly. I spoke with her and asked if there was any way she could borrow a 4-wheel drive vehicle to get to our house. I didn’t mention that I had seen her arrive at the meet and greet in a pickup truck or remind her that our driveway was flat, straight and safe.  I was calm, pleasant and respectful as I explained to her that we weren’t able to leave town without a confirmation that she would be able to come that evening to see to our pets.

We hung up the phone with her saying she would look into it and get back to me.

Less than 5 minutes later I received this text. Other than changing the name, this is exactly what she wrote.

“It has been a pleasure to work with you up to this point. Unfortunately I am going to have to terminate you as a client due to the recent conversation we have had on the phone. I will not tolerate the disrespect you have portrayed during this minor incident. I choose to work with folks that are problem solvers.

I cannot control the weather and neither can you. When I interviewed you over the summer to be my client, I thought that you might have taken a mental note as to what kind of vehicle I drive. You were very thorough with everything else and that’s why I chose to work with you.

I believe if your driveway was properly paved we would be having a different conversation. Gravel roads can be dangerous when icy.

I am very sorry that our partnership did not work out and Wish you the best in your future endeavors.
Sincerely Julie”

Needless to say, our weekend trip had to be cancelled.

I was angry at first but then realized that she had given me a gift. Every interaction I have as a pet parent with my own pet sitter is valuable feedback from ‘the other side of the table’. We spend our days as pet business owners with our business owner caps on, sometimes being the pet business client gives us a perspective that is invaluable to us in our businesses.

I’ve had to fire clients in past. It’s unpleasant and it’s hard but it’s something that occasionally has to be done. Julie’s response reminded me of 3 things:

1. Never surprise a client – The client will likely be upset in general. That’s okay and it’s important to recognize that they are upset. No one likes getting fired. Don’t compound their anger though by firing them right before services start. This leaves them with no options for replacing you in time and their anger will be double.
2. Don’t blame the client – I understand that you have a reason for firing them but a failed relationship is always a two way street. Own up to your own responsibility in the situation but don’t point out theirs. In the situation above I was accused of not being a ‘Problem solver’. This is ironic as my request to her was to solve her (not my) problem of not having transportation.
3. Don’t lie – It may be tempting to make up a reason for why you’re firing a client but don’t. The comments about my treacherous driveway and lack of a 4-wheel drive vehicle simply weren’t true. If you can’t be honest with a client about the real reasons you are firing them, then simply don’t bring them up.

I shared this story with several friends. The average American tells 15 people when they’ve had a poor customer service experience). I’m not sure how many people I told but the reactions were similar. Most of them suggested that I write a bad review for her and her business.

I will almost never write a bad review about another business no matter how poorly I was treated as a customer. Anyone who has run a business knows sometimes things go wrong despite your best intentions of providing great customer service. What differentiates the bad businesses from the great ones is a willingness to recognize a mistake, find a solution in the moment and work to do better next time.

I believe in reaching out directly to the vendor to communicate my dissatisfaction and ask for a solution. I owe them this courtesy. Most businesses are more than willing to talk through the issue and come to a resolution.

This person, unfortunately, didn’t have the foresight or the maturity to work with me to find a solution.

Ultimately, I chose not to write her a bad review. I chose to let the matter lie. My feeling was that, given her actions and her response, she’s not in danger of keeping very many clients and won’t be able to do a great deal of damage to other potential clients. While it would have made me feel a tiny bit better in the moment to spew some venom on social media, in the end, she didn’t need me to help destroy her reputation, she’s doing a fine job of that by herself.

Another great article you might enjoy

How to set your pet business pricing

https://www.thepetbusinesscoach.dog/pet-business-pricing/

About Eliza

Eliza is the owner of two successful pet related businesses; Preferred Pet Partners, a pet sitting and dog walking company, and The Pet Business Coach, offering coaching and resources to aspiring or current pet related business entrepreneurs. She maintains two awesome blogs. One for pet parents https://preferredpetpartners.com/blog/ and one for pet business owners https://thepetbusinesscoach.dog/blog-page/.  Eliza also supports various animal rescue and shelter organizations. Eliza and her husband have a growing pet family. Visit her websites: www.preferredpetpartners.com or www.thepetbusinesscoach.dog.