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When dealing with clients, think before you speak
By Lauren | November 16, 2009
A friend of mine (let’s call him Fred) recently had a very distressing encounter. His cardiologist was out of town, and Fred needed a cardiogram. Fred went to the cardiologist his regular doctor’s office recommended. When he walked in, the substitute cardiologist’s first words to him were, “have you ever thought about losing weight?”
Ouch.
Fred has struggled with his weight since adolescence and estimates that he’s tried an average of two diets annually for the past forty years. Has he ever thought about losing weight? Of course he has. But to make matters worse, it quickly became apparent that the cardiologist who introduced himself with that insulting question was far less interested in Fred’s health than in hawking his new weight-loss program. Fred left the cardiologist’s office deeply upset, feeling as if the greedy doctor cared only about seeing how much money he could pry out of Fred’s pockets.
Anyone who’s been reading this blog for more than a week knows that upsetting a client (or patient in this case) is a great way to guarantee that the client will sue you if you make a mistake. There’s nothing wrong with offering your products and services to your customers, but don’t do it at the expense of your professional relationships. Let your clients know that you care about them as people, and you’ll get all the business you can handle. But recognize that a careless remark or overly aggressive sales pitch is likely to backfire - and might just land you in court.
Topics: Business Ethics, Risk Management, business communications, customer relations, ethics |
December 17th, 2009 at 2:26 pm
[...] presents When dealing with clients, think before you speak posted at The Business Ethics Blog, saying, “Putting your foot in your mouth is a good way of [...]