I had a very unusual meeting today and I now hold the record within our team for the shortest meeting with a client... ever!I arrived right on time and met Mr Client with a view to discussing some specific areas of our service as had been agreed. Colleague X, who is the main contact from my company was not attending but hadn't bothered telling Mr Client. This upset Mr Client a lot and he then started on about how unprofessional my company is because he sees a different person every time (not true), so I tried to explain that my role is a specialist one and that was the reason for the meeting. This didn't calm him down at all and he then went on to moan about other service issues he has had recently. He then paused... and said... "I am bringing this meeting to a close" and gave me back my business card!
The meeting had lasted 2 minutes! The secretary was quite shocked as I walked past her down the stairs as she was bringing me coffee.
Although I appreciate some of his views were valid, there are better ways to deal with problems. I certainly would never have acted like this when I used to do Mr Client's job.
He is obviously the type of person that you work with for months and even years, enjoying what you think to be a good business relationship and when one thing goes wrong, he throws a temper tantrum and says "I am never working with you again".
What a great day!
Some people are rude. It's a fact! If he has been inconvenienced, I assume that he doesn't HAVE to deal with you and could go elsewhere??? If thats the case, he could have been more polite.
ReplyDeleteJeees!
sounds like to me he isnt someone you want as a client anyway. best he walks on!
ReplyDeleteI would have at least taken the cup of coffee. No need to waste a perfectly good cup of coffee over a disgruntled man.
ReplyDeleteI've met *ankers like that. They're so full of their own importance they think they can treat you like dirt.
ReplyDeleteI am trying to see the positives here - the guy wasn't really rude, but not very polite either. In my job I would had to visit him quite a few times over the next year, so finding out now that he is would have been awkward to work with is a blessing.
ReplyDeleteI work as a concierge at a large financial institution and deal with all sorts of personalities each day. Some are a pleasure, most are so so but some are a real challenge but we must be kind and respectful regardless how we feel. It all comes with working with humanity and all the idiosyncrasies this involves.
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