Think about it… when you go to buy something on ebay what is the first thing you do?  You check the sellers rating to see what the feedback was right?  Well wouldn’t you like to know about a customer you’re about to do business with if they have a history of not paying a business, hard to work with or even cause a scene?  As business owners we all pre-qualify our customers in a way before we do business with them (or most do, especially service businesses) but how nice would it be to find out from others who have dealt with them before?  We all do this as it is where we talk with our friends about those certain customers that caused problems and didn’t pay for this or that.  Business Beware is a way for you to communicate the word of mouth with businesses all over the US and Canada.  Who knows, that customer might have moved and you would have never of known if they were a problematic customer if you didn’t use the site.

Don’t think for one second that you will get a bad rep for using this site or being associated with it.  It’s definitely not going to stop customers from filing a complaint against you on the Better Business Bureau, Angie’s List, Ripoff Report, Consumers in Control etc.  Business Beware is all about “help me, help you” in the fact that you as the business owner need to put your problem customers here for others to know about in the future and vice versa.  And guess what?  It’s FREE, you don’t pay a membership fee for the customer to complain about you.  If you’re a business and you are afraid that customers will be mad at you for posting on here well then one you are a chicken and second I guess this site is not for you then.  This is for YOU, the business owner so use it.

1. You eat all your wings and then when the waiter comes back you say “these wings were terrible. I want the meal free.”

2. You follow the service tech around the yard telling him how to do everything (why did you call them out then if you know it all?)

3. You order coffee and let it sit there while reading or messing with your computer and then say to the employees “this coffee is cold and I want a brand new one.”

4. You order your food and waiting in line you yell at the employee “why is it taking so long, what is wrong with you people?!”  (considering it’s only been 5 minutes since you ordered)

5. You call an install business asking if they sale parts.  When they tell you they don’t you reply with “well how stupid is that?  who doesn’t sell parts?  why are you even in business then?”

***More to come and just a note– these are true stories from in and around the workplace.  If you have stories, would love to hear them.  Visit us at Business Beware for more information.

I talked with a lady the other day that had been a business owner for over 15 years and she never really knew you could fire a customer.  I told her “yes you can!”  Customers that take up your time and cost you money are not worth doing business with.  Great customer service is a must but not when they are taking advantage of you.  If you let the customer take advantage of you it’s your own fault and they will keep getting away with it. 

The other day I was sitting in a restaurant while two older men sat behind me talking about an electrician he hired to come out and do some work.  The total was suppose to be around $1300 while the older man said to the other “well I made him come down to $750 because that was just ridiculous for me to pay that much.”  He also says “if you know how to work them and make them think you’re always right then you can make them come down on the price.”  So he kept talking about the poor electrician he screwed over and then the waitress brings him the check and he replies to her “my food was terrible! I want it complemented!”  The waitress says “well sir you ate all of your food, how could it have not been that good?”  His friend tells the waitress “well he said the whole time he was eating it that it was terrible.”  By the time the older man finished with the waitress she was about in tears and the manager came over to talk with him.  He told the manager that he wanted the meal free so the manager gave both the men their meals free.  The older guy also says “well I want a few complemented meals for the next time I come here as well for all the trouble you put me through.”  The manager said he could not do that and that the meals were on the house for that day (good for you manager!). 

I rarely easedrop but they were so loud behind me I could not help but overhear what was going on.  This is a prime example of why customers are not always right.  A bad customer is a bad customer everywhere.  What’s bad is even the good customers can’t stand the bad customers, now what does that tell you?  Sorry customers, you’re not always right.  It’s a new day and Business Beware is here to stay my friend!

Also catch us every Saturday from 11am to Noon (est) where we talk about business/consumer relationships and why the customer is not always right.  For more information visit the radio site.

Okay first of all did they not listen to what I just said and did they fail to listen to the service tech when he explained everything to them and they signed on the dotted line that they agreed?  How do you not know what you are agreeing to, it’s not the businesses fault you didn’t listen.  That is why we have contracts so it is an agreement between the both of us for the business to do the work and the customer to pay for the work done.  If you don’t plan on listening to us in the first place then it’s definitely not our problem, it’s yours.