As I was ordering there was a lady standing there decked out in a suit who thought she was something let’s just say.  When I got done ordering I heard the Starbucks employee apologizing to the suit lady about not cinnamon on top of the whip cream.  She then fails to say that she wanted it completely redone because it was already starting to melt (hmm maybe because you took too long complaining about the specks of cinnamon that weren’t there, just a thought).  She keeps yelling at the employee until she says “okay mam I will make you a completely new one, I am so sorry about that.” 

By this time my mouth was just to the floor and I even lost my appetite for my Christmas in a cup latte which never happens.  The suit lady turns and looks at me like I ate her McNuggets while she wasn’t looking so it led me to do what I had to do… I pulled out a Business Beware sticker that says “the customer is not always right” and I set it down on the counter as I told the employee “thank you and have an awesome day.”  As I walk away I watch the suit lady walk back up to the counter to get her newly cinnamon speckled frapp and she sees the sticker…she gives me another look and I just smile.  And for the record I would have totally stolen her McNuggets…

Bad customers are everywhere, even at Starbucks.  Bad customers are like bad apples and at Business Beware we are bobbing for bad apples as we like to say.

We run small businesses and it’s so aggravating having to pay other companies to collect the money that we worked hard for but the customer refuses to pay.  That is precisely why we started the “beware letter.”  Join our site, send a letter to customer, collect from them and keep all the money.  No it’s not a joke.

Here is a testimonial that just came in today from Kristin Matthison in San Diego, CA:

“I signed up for Business Beware last week from a friend of mine that told me about it.  I signed up to send the first collection letter to a customer that still owed me $258 from a recent purchase they made from me at my online store.  I was about to write them off because I didn’t want to have to turn to a collection agency for the small amount.  I gave the letter a shot and 3 days later the customer mailed me a check.  I am now a forever HUGE fan of this site!  Thank you!”

To us, that’s awesome.  This is exactly why we created this service for small business owners.  We did it selfishly of course because we were tired of dealing with collections but we wanted to help others too.  So if you want to try it out, the membership is free and the first letter is free.  Again, we’re not kidding.  Learn more right here.

Listen to Scott’s Interview here

We had a great show this past Saturday and we are getting some awesome feedback from people about how they are using our free tool Business Beware to pre-qualify their customers.  AND our “beware letter” is turning some heads or should we say it this way “it’s making customer think twice about not paying…”  If you  missed the show because you were out enjoying your summer vacation we totally don’t blame you so that’s why we are hooking you up with it right now.  Listen to the show right here.

Don’t forget to send in your questions for the show or about the topics we talk about.  And feel free to write us about being on the show.  For more information visit us at BusinessBewareRadioShow.com

Well we came across an article/interview with Buddy (the owner) about the show etc. but the interviewer asked him this question:

Q: “How do you handle customers that have a different idea in mind and don’t want your design?”

A: “That usually doesn’t happen too much. I am the “Cake Boss,” but sometimes you always try to be patient. The customer is always right, but with them always being right, I will give my opinion. So if you tell me, “I want blue polka dots on it,” I’ll say I’ll do it for you, but I think it’s going to look ugly. I give you my opinion. If inevitably that’s what you really want, unless it was something really obscene or I something I really couldn’t stand, then I would say, “Listen, I’m not the guy to make the cake for you.”

We couldn’t agree with you anymore Buddy.  This is so true (well we say the customer is not always right…).  But what he says about “I’m not the guy for you,” if someone wants something obscene or vulgar, he just won’t do it.  Why? Because it’s his business and that’s how he runs it.  He pre-qualifies his customers before he makes them a cake and if it’s something that does not fit with what he does then he lets them know that.

You have to do this with customers.  When you pre-qualify them you have to find out what they expect or want before you know if you’re the right business for them.  If you’re not let them know before hand and don’t get caught in a bad situation later.  What you do is a reflection of your business and if you don’t want to make vulgar or obscene cakes for a customer, then don’t do it.  (and this is soooo true about Buddy because he recently told someone in an episode that he didn’t make these types of cakes.  even his mother said it too.
Read more of the interview: http://www.kansascity.com/2010/07/22/2099584/cake-boss-enjoys-being-on-television.html#ixzz0uj17g8Ss

It’s almost ridiculous how many customers use twitter to rant about how bad a business is.  If you do a search for “bad customer” on twitter the only thing that comes up is “bad customer service.”  I kid you not.  And it’s stupid things like “I had to wait 5 minutes to get my coffee, this customer service sucks!” or “I had a guy tell me I couldn’t have a free meal because my coupon was expired.”  I mean really?

Here is something I thought was interesting too.  This is what came up when I searched “fire a customer”

“There is only 1 boss. The customer. And he can fire everybody in the company simply by spending his money somewhere else.”

Customers are taking every chance they get to talk about a business whether good or bad.  Be prepared to say something or respond and you definitely should care what is being said about you, don’t ignore it.  But also if you have “idiots” that post things, believe me if someone is smart enough they will realize that they’re an idiot.  Just say to them “I’m sorry you’re an idiot, feel free to never visit our store again.”

Has a customer ever blasted you on the internet via social media?

Use your common sense when it comes to dealing with problem customers. This whole thing about apologizing to the customer when they are the ones in the wrong is horse poo. Don’t listen to all these so called “experts” about customer service. Act like a human to people and treat them right in the first place but if they “act up” on their own terms because they think they’re always right then you have to fire them. These customers are not worth your time or your employees time either AND it will save you money believe it or not.

On that note… we had a great show this past Saturday so in case you missed it make sure and pull up a chair, turn up your volume and listen in right here.

“Business Beware, you are my hero. I have been trying for 10 months to collect from a customer that owed me nearly $2000 for helping her with some interior decorating in her home. For months I sent out a late payment courtesy note but after no response it really ticked me off. I didn’t want to use a collection agency simply because they had screwed me over last time I tried to use them. A friend mentioned your site so I was willing to give it a try and the first letter was free, who doesn’t take advantage of that?? About a week and a half after she received the letter she turned around and called me with a credit card # to charge the outstanding balance! One word comes to mind… WOW. Thank you so much for providing this service to small businesses, I will never use a collections agency again. I am a proud Business Beware member, thank you so much!”
-Nancy Wilson from San Diego, CA

Want to collect from a customer that owes you money?

Get the deets right here.

Here is a recent testimonial we received about our collection letter service from Kellie Donavan from Seattle, WA:

“I had tried for 8 months to collect from a customer that owed our design company over $1500 but never got a response each time a late notice was sent out.  I was at the end of my rope with it and almost just wrote it off because I didn’t want to go through the collection agency process.  Then I had a friend tell me about a site they used to collect $800 from a non-paying customer of theirs.  When I went to Business Beware I could not believe that they offered this service and if you collect the money they don’t require a % at all.  Since the first letter was free I thought “why not give it a try.”   I signed up with the site, got the letter sent out and about a week later I saw a letter in our mail that was from this particular customer with the full payment.   I could not believe it!  After 8 months of trying to collect from them and not ever hearing from them they sent the payment when they received the “beware letter” from Business Beware.  I cannot tell you how much this means to me as a small business owner that is just trying to stay afloat during this tough economy.  If you’re a small business I encourage you to take advantage of this service!”

We love hearing from those that use our “beware letter” service.  If you have a testimonial you would like to share please send it our way.  Don’t forget to check out the counter on the home page of how much money we are saving small businesses across the US and Canada.

Have you had problems collecting from customers lately?

“Under30CEO develops young people who have the hunger to think outside the cubicle.  Our job is to make you uncomfortable enough to do something with your life.  We give you the resources, community, and inspiration to do it.  Lifestyle + Business= Under30CEO”

We talked with Jared O’ Toole who is the co-founder of Under30CEO about how and why Matt Wilson (founder) decided to start this awesome website…

1. What made you want to start Under30CEO?
We graduated college and simply wanted to start a business, no careers. We tried many things and all of them failed in some way so we started connecting with college entrepreneurs. We missed the excitement of college entrepreneur groups and clubs and decided that if we got back into the mode we would come up with an idea of our own. This is what spawned Under30CEO as we started connecting with young entrepreneurs and realized people were liking it. We took it from there and decided to do it full time and grow it into a resource.
 
2. There are lots of young entrepreneur sites starting up everywhere, what makes yours different from the others?
Commitment and experience. We have been running Under30CEO in one form or another for two years now. That has given us an un-matchable insight into young entrepreneurs and what they go through. The amount of under 30 CEO’s, businesses and contributors we have been a part of the site is also at the top of the pack.

We have done this full-time for over a year now. Our commitment to the site has seen it steadily grow faster then any other startup young entrepreneur site. We have big plans and have seen that as we moved from a side project to a full blown business no other sites have kept up.
 
3. What is one thing that you see most young entrepreneurs ask about when starting a business?
Common ones are “What do I do first?” or “How do I find my audience?”. They are general but very common because every new entrepreneur is over-whelmed with how many things they have to do.
 
4. What was the biggest thing you had to overcome to get where you are now with Under30CEO?
Time. I think time is the biggest killer of so many businesses. People just can’t stick it out. Everything takes longer then you think, but if you believe in it you will get there. Nothing happens quickly because everyone your working with has other things going on. Your business might be the only thing your doing to survive but everyone else has other priorities so it happens slowly.
 
5. What all does your site offer?
We offer advice, motivation and inspiration to young entrepreneurs. We have exclusive under30ceo interviews so people can learn how that 25 year old made a million bucks. We also have the thoughts and insights from the older generations on youth entrepreneurship and where they see opportunities and obstacles for young entrepreneurs.

Then there is startup advice which is general advice on marketing, leadership, work/life balance, branding and more.

We are working towards providing more resources for small businesses and also building on the events that we hold in cities like NYC and Chicago.
 
6. How does your team kick back relax away from keeping up with the site Under30CEO?
It’s tough but we try to make sure to always make time. Recently we have focused on enjoying our weekends and staying away from the computer for the most part. We realized that it is really important to take a break and not work 24/7. I think we accomplish a lot more when we work hard Mon-Fri and then go out just like our other friends on the weekends. Any work we get done is just a bonus and feels good.
 
7. What is the one piece of advice you could tell any young entrepreneur? 
Just go for it and then figure it out. I am a big believer in taking the leap even if your not %100 clear on anything. Under30CEO started because of a few conversations with young entrepreneurs about how to start completely other businesses. Our new marketing company Shadow Concepts LLC started because of our experience and connections we made with Under30CEO.

None of this was planned for a second. Put yourself out there and doors will open over time.

These guys are awesome and you definitely need to them out at Under30CEO.com  There are some amazing articles on there as well so take the time to read through them and give Jared or Matt a shout too.

Big Brothers, Big Sisters is a great organization so make sure and get involved with their locations near you.  It means more than you know to the kids and that makes it worth the while.