Client Relations - How Do You Deal With Bad Apples?

August 22, 2007

As a business owner for the last three years, I have had my fair share of wonderful clients and a few not-so-wonderful clients. This happens in business and although some of us would prefer not to think that those bad apples exist, they do.

Looking back over the years got me thinking about how bad apples creep into virtual assistance client rosters and I think that it happens more often in a business that is setup like ours is. I have some great friends who are also virtual assistants and I’ve seen it happen to them as well. They have clients who aren’t treating them in an appropriate way and therefore, they either suffer or they fire them and move on.

I often wonder why this happens in the business of a virtual assistant. I think it boils down to differences in personality or working style and the perception of the assistant / “boss” role. When a business owners makes a decision to hire a virtual assistant, if they do not approach it the right way they could easily believe they are hiring someone who will work under them. They treat the working relationship like they are back in the corporate world and dismiss the VA as being a real business owner.

If a situation arises in my business where a client acts unprofessionally (that happens too!) and does something that goes against my beliefs as a business owner, I let them know that I can not work with someone who doesn’t view the value of our relationship. I strive to build teams with each of my clients to help move their business’ forward. To do that, I need to know that we have reciprocal trust, respect and excitement for what is ahead in their business.

If you are a virtual assistant, how do you deal with clients who happen to fall in the ‘bad apple’ category? If you are a client of a virtual assistant, how do you value your virtual assistant and what perceptions do you think some business owners have about virtual assistants? Lastly, if you are a business owner in general, what do you do to ensure you have a mutually happy relationship with your clients or customers?

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