How do you turn an inherently unpleasant experience into a "win win" for both the customer and yourself? Account managers are faced with this dilemma every day.

Most agreements are terminated at our request. Most are terminated for lack of payment. Picking up merchandise from a customer under these circumstances is difficult at best. At worst it can be humiliating for the customer and extremely stressful for the account manager. While we will never make it "pain free", there are several things we can do to minimize the pain for us, and more importantly, for the customer. We will assume, for the purposes of this article, that everything within reason has been done to save the agreement.

Start at the Beginning
A complete and total understanding by the customer of their right to return the merchandise at ANY time is essential. Since we know going in that most agreements will be returned at some point, make sure your new customer understands that they can exercise this right and still return to rent again.

Don't' Take it Personally
This is our chosen profession. We deliver, we pick up, we deliver again. It's what we do. If you find yourself getting angry when a customer breaks their commitment to pay and, on their commitment day, tells you to "pick up your stuff"...Put the customer on hold and count to ten...tell yourself this..."Your objective has now changed from extending the life of the agreement, to making that customer comfortable enough to someday return to rent again." Consider it a challenge.

Reward Good Performance
Unfortunately, today's software does not make it easy to track "Return Customers". But it can be done with some creative reporting. Owners should track "return customers" and reward account managers accordingly. If it's important to you, it will be important for your employees.

Deal With It
Your customer will be renting from a competitor within hours (if they haven't already). Deal with it. Accept it as a reality of our business. Conduct yourself with professionalism and your customer will return to you eventually.

By following a few simple guidelines and treating customers "new and old" with respect, it is possible to turn a potentially relationship ending event into a win-win.