Written by Andrew Holliday | April 29, 2016
Helping friends and family can be a rewarding experience, but you need to be careful. Avoid the trap of treating some clients different than others. It’s a slippery slope. Don’t be tempted to give discounts and make exceptions for friends or family. You may have the best intentions when you start the project, but you’re heading toward an inevitable bad ending for everyone.
When you make exceptions, the client doesn’t understand the value you bring, and you begin to resent the work because of the discounts and special treatment you’re providing. This downward spiral leads to a subpar experience for both parties.
It’s better to have honest conversations on the front end and charge a fair price for your work. I now remove myself from the situation if friends or family are involved. I bring the friend in and then let them work with one of our team members to remove the personal relationship dynamic. If they choose not to work with us, at least I maintain the friendship and Harvest maintains our consistent client experience.
Making exceptions for friends and family was a lesson learned the hard way. We made this mistake several times before learning how to handle these relationships properly. Now we treat everyone the same. Every client gets exceptional service, but no clients get exceptions.
Action Steps:
Stop making exceptions and treat all clients the same to ensure a consistent experience.
