Welp, we got absolutely reamed by a client this week...

Last week one of our clients at Paperboy messaged us out of the blue and asked if we could schedule a call. While I'd typically let the account manager handle stuff like this, my spidey senses told me this was one I should probably be on for.

Yea, I knew it wasn't going to be good.

Fast forward 24 hrs and there we were, sitting quietly as the client walked through a notebook full of reasons they were disappointed with the service.

Communication issues. Quality issues. Speed issues. You name it.

Now, if any of you have ever been in this situation, you probably know how it goes. I was feeling a lot of feelings.

First and foremost, I was angry. I didn't like the things that were being said about me, my team, and a service that we've worked so hard to perfect over the last 18 months.

But I was also annoyed because I felt like some of the blame being placed on us was miscast and unfair.

But if I'm being completely honest, what I really felt deep down was ashamed. Ashamed because as much as I wanted to fight it, I knew that there was a bit (or maybe a lot) of truth in what the client was saying.

And so, 45 minutes later we left the call feeling pretty defeated. I told the account manager that I needed some time to process everything but would be in touch to chat next steps.

Instead of wallowing in my pity, I decided to get out of the office and go for a walk. As I strolled around the neighborhood the feelings of dread & anxiety started to dissipate a bit. I got an iced coffee, pet a few dogs, enjoyed the trees.

By the time I made my way back to the office, I wasn't feeling dreadful at all. I think I was actually kind of excited. Now, I know that sounds crazy but here's the thing...

When you're in the day to day of running an agency, sometimes it can be hard to get perspective on your business. To see the forest from the trees, as they say.

I'm extremely proud of what we've built — the team, the service, all of it. But the client was right, there is room for improvement. And if we're dropping the ball somewhere, I want to know and I want to fix it.

So we sat down and got to work. We outlined all of the complaints, set aside the ones we thought were bogus and then prioritized the remaining issues from most critical to least. From there, it was a matter of brainstorming solutions.

We asked ourselves: What policy, SOP, training, or expectation can we put in place to prevent this from happening again?

After a few hours of that, we had an action plan. And after about 2 weeks of implementation, our service will be even more bulletproof than it already is.

Look, don't get me wrong; I did not enjoy this process. And I'm extremely grateful that conversations like these are outliers with our clients. But in the end, I'm glad it happened.

So, for those of you who find yourselves on the other end of a reaming, here's my best advice:

Don't argue (at least not in the moment).

Take it on the chin.

Then get to work.

Truth is, clients will come and go. Some of them are going to be a pain in the ass and for them, good riddance. But your business is a long term asset. I know it's not easy, but if you can set aside your ego (and trust me, I have a big one), and apply your energy to plugging the holes and optimizing your operations, your business will thank you in the long run.

Here's to looking forward to my next beating 🍻(may it be at least 6 months away).

— Shane