It always amazes me how many customers leave everything to the very last minute and expect you as business owner to bend over backwards for them.
I’ve learnt over the years to have very firm boundaries in place otherwise the result is to suffer from burnout.
When I was desperate for money I would take on everything 24/7/365 but I’m not anymore. I’ve also learnt that those who are leaving everything to the last minute are not necessarily big spenders, more like trouble makers.
It’s important to really analyse your customers on a very deep level and learn from them. You can then decide where your boundaries are and the cut off point.
Today I had a customer who wanted me to arrange his engagement proposal experience for this afternoon. I very politely reminded him (as I did on Monday) that we are closing now for Christmas to be with our families.
At the same time I also gave him the number of our operator so that he can call them directly to assist.
This way I have not lost a customer and he doesn’t feel let down or dropped. So it’s a delicate dance in how to handle people sometimes.
