I was talking to a successful life coach today and he huffed about how he was in a wrangle with a client who wanted a refund.
They each had a different view of what was owed for what had been transacted, and each had converted those views into entrenched positions.
Here’s my take on fees, value and refunds:
- If a client comes on board, it’s because they view the prospect of working with you as a value proposition.
- Well done for positioning that and selling it.
- If a client later feels they’re not getting that value, it’s either because you’re doing a poor job, or because the client wasn’t suitable for your service in the first place.
- Either way, it’s your responsibility.
- You just learnt a great lesson which will enable you to tweak your approach for the future.
- Refund them, with pleasure, and thank them for the experience.
- This should be rule one: never, ever sue a client. If they dislike you enough to ask for a refund, imagine how they’ll hate you after 6 weeks of litigation.
We only ever want to work with people who want to work with us, right? Voluntarily, not because we forced them to.
Let’s get on with it!
Jonny