Greetings!
Wondering who is the great person that said that? Well, I haven't heard it from anyone or read it anywhere; it's just something that came to my mind when I was in church today.
But that's the absolute truth: the clients we are enjoying patronage from today as business people were once other people's clients. They came to us, or let me say, we stole them, and one day, they're going to leave us for others too. In church today, I saw a client who just suddenly stopped patronizing my business last year. I knew he was in town, even though I hadn't been seeing him. Although I tried to build up the relationship to make him stay, it didn't work, and I didn't push myself beyond my limits. I just accepted that my time was up and it was time for him to go to another business person.
I would have felt really bad if I had done something wrong before he left. I checked very carefully, and there wasn't any day we had issues with how I handled the job he gave to me. That's me. I always tell people that yes, issues are bound to happen between business owners and clients, but those issues can't be related to how I technically or professionally treat the work. Other things, such as a poor relationship, can happen, and I try very hard to keep up, but it can't just be the technicality of how I handle my work. So whenever I notice that a client is going away or has gone away, I also smile because I am very sure that whatever made him lose interest in my service can't be related to the service I provided.
When things like that happen, we shouldn't overthink it. Many reasons may be attached to it, and it's best to let go.
What if the client's very close relative has just opened the same business and he decided to patronize his relative? This is very common in our world today because every business is competitive. Even I have close relatives and good neighbors who decided to start patronizing me when I joined the business I'm doing today. That's life for us!
Another possible reason could be that the client is putting checks in place. An example might be that there is a nearby center to his house and he didn't see any reason to pay for transportation to come to yours when he can easily walk and get the service from a nearby business.
Just like I mentioned above, when I started my laundry business, the people on my street already had places they were taking their clothes to be worked on. But when they noticed that they could do the same with me without having to pay a transport fee, they switched to me,....like I stole them from their former business person.
That's just how life is. When you lose a customer, don't overthink it. It was just the time for that person to go. After all, business is like a barracks: the more soldiers that are going, the more new ones are coming in.
Thanks for reading.
| Images are mine |