Problem of a Reader:
"How do you deal with clients you hate?"
Well the best way is to become a manager and palm them off on a junior, whilst having a direct financial interest in their business. Magically, you will love your clients then.
This dynamic is different if you are having to do the daily grind with them and some people are just beyond the pale.
First step - try to get to know them better (if that's possible) to see if you can establish if there is some sort of moral code in them.
"All our best clients get a bottle for Christmas"
Second step - get to know their assistant. Having a friendly voice at the end of the phone or outside the office will make your meetings with this person more bearable as they are only the shit in the sourdough sandwich of the nice assistant.
Third step - obviously keep a note of how difficult they are so that you can trot that out when need be as part of your experience of dealing with "demanding" clients in your next interview.
Fourth step - achieve a zen state of mind - rise above it. These are people just like you and the foul nature they exhibit at work is a symptom of their unhappiness and inadequacy. They are actually deserving of our pity (although perhaps not whilst you work for them).
"It's time for the client team meeting"
Finally and in due course they will come to reap what they have sowed. And when you tell your accounts team to serve a statutory demand on their company for unpaid bills, you will be able to gain that grim satisfaction of knowing that there is justice in this world. Although more likely, they continue to prosper and you just move on and have a story to tell at lawyer gatherings. and interviews. and in therapy. and in bed when crying to your partner wondering why you put up with it. and as the inspiration for why you left the law. and became happy.
"How do you deal with clients you hate?"
Well the best way is to become a manager and palm them off on a junior, whilst having a direct financial interest in their business. Magically, you will love your clients then.
This dynamic is different if you are having to do the daily grind with them and some people are just beyond the pale.
First step - try to get to know them better (if that's possible) to see if you can establish if there is some sort of moral code in them.
"All our best clients get a bottle for Christmas"Second step - get to know their assistant. Having a friendly voice at the end of the phone or outside the office will make your meetings with this person more bearable as they are only the shit in the sourdough sandwich of the nice assistant.
Third step - obviously keep a note of how difficult they are so that you can trot that out when need be as part of your experience of dealing with "demanding" clients in your next interview.
Fourth step - achieve a zen state of mind - rise above it. These are people just like you and the foul nature they exhibit at work is a symptom of their unhappiness and inadequacy. They are actually deserving of our pity (although perhaps not whilst you work for them).
"It's time for the client team meeting"Finally and in due course they will come to reap what they have sowed. And when you tell your accounts team to serve a statutory demand on their company for unpaid bills, you will be able to gain that grim satisfaction of knowing that there is justice in this world. Although more likely, they continue to prosper and you just move on and have a story to tell at lawyer gatherings. and interviews. and in therapy. and in bed when crying to your partner wondering why you put up with it. and as the inspiration for why you left the law. and became happy.
Category