“I’m Right, End of Story” – Setting Boundaries with Your Clients
Photo by Latoya Dixon Smith
I’m going to say something that will make those in the customer service industry clutch their pearls and scream “blasphemy!” Are you ready for the breakthrough statement?
The customer isn’t always right.
That’s right, I said what we’ve all been thinking. Sometimes a client may want their order completed by Thursday at 10am and in your gut you know you don’t have the bandwidth. But you do it anyways (almost killing yourself in the process) and realize you’re burnt out, frustrated, and wishing you just said no.
If you’ve been following me for any length of time (even if you haven’t!) you’ll find out quickly that I discuss boundaries quite a bit. That’s because I never had any growing up – I just did my best to make absolutely everybody happy while I was miserable (where my people pleasers at?)
When I developed my business, I realized this was my natural propensity and decided to start approaching my client interactions with empathy and compassion. It’s made all the difference.
Let’s talk about setting boundaries with our clients.
Photo by Latoya Dixon Smith
Set Hours
Most business owners have the spiel of “I’m in the office from x to y” that we tell people, but then we reply to an email at 8:36pm or when we first wake up at 7:35 (or 8:30am in my case. I’m not a morning person, leave me be).
Instead, set your hours and MEAN those hours. Of course, exceptions will come your way (if you are like me and have international clients, time zones can break your hours – no big deal!), but do your best to begin and end your day without the need to respond to everything right when it comes through.
Pick your sacred times and stick to them.
Photo by Latoya Dixon Smith
It’s Okay to Say No
You are not your client’s worker bee that does everything they command; you are there to guide, instruct, or lead the way with industry specific help they hired you to be the master of!
If your client is asking you to do something that interferes with your boundaries, say “no.” This will take practice, courage, and a little grit to get used to. It could be a project that isn’t within your scope of work or extra work they’re needing that you simply don’t have the time for. Either way, “no” if your friend!
Expectations are Everything
From your very first interaction with your client, set expectations! This can look like “just so you’re aware, I do not work weekends so any emails you send to be Friday after 5pm will be answered Monday at 10am” or it could look more like these:
The times you’re available for meetings
How your clients can get in touch with you
Your response timeframe
How/when you invoice
Everyone has different boundaries – our jobs are to establish our own and respect those of others. These should never been seen as an “end all be all” but instead as healthy options which allow us to give to others while maintaining our own peace of mind.
How do you set boundaries? What are some of yours?
