Episode 176: Firing Customers - Business Tip of the Month with Hal Denbar of National Pool Partners

Episode Summary: 

In today’s edition of Business Tip of the Month, we’re joined by Hal Denbar, President of Texas at National Pool Partners. 

When is it time to fire a customer? Hal says that there are a number of reasons, the top three being issues related to payment, misaligned expectations, or the abusive treatment of his team members. 

Ultimately, you have to be quick to fire bad customers for the sake of employee morale. “Cut out the cancer early,” says Hal. “Don’t let it fester. Don’t let it bring you down and make you lose your joy for doing what you’re doing, because that is contagious.” 

Topics Discussed: 

• 01:27 - Firing a customer for abusing your employees 
• 06:14 - Firing a customer for misaligned expectations 
• 10:05 - How to avoid setbacks or criticism personally 
• 14:09 - The importance of setting expectations 
• 17:14 - The value of having a CRM 
• 20:14 - Getting the service agreement right 
• 24:34 - Firing to maintain employee morale 

 

Connect with Guest: 

• Website 
• Facebook 
• LinkedIn 

Connect with Pool Chasers: 

• Website 
• Instagram 
  Facebook 
• Facebook Group 
• Twitter 
• YouTube 
• Patreon 

 

 

Key Quotes from Episode: 

• One thing that’s very important when you fire a customer, is to be prepared for a bad review. [...] But once someone’s true colors have been revealed, we’re not doing business with that person. 
• When it comes to responding to a bad review or firing a customer, it’s always best to give yourself 24 hours. Take some breaths, think about it, or talk to somebody else. Letting that cool-off time happen will make for a much better result in the end. 
• The CRM is only as good as you are. 
• When it comes to firing a customer, the overwhelming majority of the time, the reason it has to happen is for the morale of the employees.