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Don't Expect Gratitude from All Customers

Guest post by: James Chan

Article Overview: For customers who pay you and even love who you do for them, you want to stay with them for as long as you run your business. But, for other customers who treat you as their interim "Fire Department," just do your work and let go. You'd be a happier person, not merely a successful one.

Don't Expect Gratitude from All Customers

Entrepreneurs need good customers and good clients. These are people and organizations who have the need, the budget, an understanding that what you offer is needed. They also respect you and treat you well. You say this is a very stringent definition. You bet. Good customers and clients are hard to find.

Most customers happen to have a need. And you happen to be around. When they need you, and they have the budget to buy what you offer, they can be very charming. But once the goods are delivered or the job is done, and they don~{!/~}t need you any more, they will more than likely forget you.

Don~{!/~}t get me wrong. We need those who use the products or services we offer. And we should give them respect and the benefit of the doubt. But it is foolhardy for self-employed people to expect a pat on the shoulder, a thank-you card in the mail, or a letter of appreciation written without request. On rare occasions, clients do that. There are some very nice people around. But the majority are just consumers. They, like us, have their own fears, insecurities, anxieties, and crises to cope with at work or at home. Frankly, they simply can~{!/~}t think about you too. You should be happy that you get paid on time, or get paid at all.

Some try to low-ball you. Others simply want to pick your brain without paying you for your experience and expertise. Some mistrust you because they fear that you might steal their jobs.

Your responsibility is to do a professional job in every case. You shouldn~{!/~}t be resentful of the work you put in to get the job done. It may have been more difficult~{!*~}and more crucial~{!*~}than the customer realizes. That~{!/~}s life.

Do your job, and let go. Be cordial and respectful, but keep a distance. You don~{!/~}t need to get chummy. And when you get no gratitude, you feel no resentment.

It can be frustrating if nobody tells you whether you have succeeded in your tasks. When there is no one to affirm that you~{!/~}re good, it is hard to believe that you are. Unlike in schools and colleges, there are no grades, no certificates, no diplomas, no measuring of how good you are when you complete a job. There aren~{!/~}t even employee evaluations. The only measures are the level of the bank account~{!*~}an important though not always entirely accurate indicator~{!*~}and our own assessments. Such self-evaluations can be brutal. Often, I have been unrealistically tough in judging myself. I~{!/~}m a pretty hard boss to work for.

One indication of your usefulness is if clients keep using you over and over again. But sometimes, things change and they no longer need you. They~{!/~}ll say good-bye, your job is done. And like the lone gunman of the Wild West, you will move on, knowing that you~{!/~}ve saved the lives of those who~{!/~}ve sought your help, too wise to expect any thanks.

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Article Tags: anxieties, benefit of the doubt, brain, budget, consumers, crises, fears, gratitude, jobs, letter of appreciation, mail, mistrust, nice people, professional job, rare occasions, resentment, stringent definition



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