Contrary to popular belief, the customer is NOT always right. Actually, more times than not, the customer is wrong. Let’s look at it like this, you started the business and in doing so you have done lots of research and you have invested thousands of hours of your time building your business and your craft. How can an outsider with no expertise tell you how to run your business?

We see it all the time. We’ll have a customer sign up on Airbnb, send us an inquiry, not like the response, and then tell us how we should change our policies. This person has never even used the service, yet they feel inclined to tell me how to run my business.

Understand there is a big difference between constructive criticism and complaints because a customer didn’t get their way. Constructive criticism comes from other professionals in your field that have experience and have a proven model of success. I welcome constructive criticism with open arms. I do not welcome a Karen telling me that I should change my pet policy from no more than two pets to four pets because she has four dogs that are like family to her. Yes, that was an actual complaint.

When it comes to your business, you will always be learning and growing. You will not have it all figured out in the first few weeks/months/years. As you continue to get better, you will also continue improving your practices and policies. Always remember that it is YOUR BUSINESS. If a person can’t use your service or product the way you intended, move on to the next potential customer.

There is no sure way to avoid dealing with potentially bad customers or people wasting your time. The best that we have found is to put everything out in the open. Our website, our listings, our contracts, etc. spell out everything that we offer, don’t offer, will accept, and won’t accept. If a person challenges anything that we do or offer, we kindly refer them to someone else.

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