How do you feel when confronted by a combative customer expressing displeasure with your products and services? For most of us, it’s not a walk in the park. 

We naturally feel tension and this makes it hard not to escalate the situation. But escalation will only make it worse. To handle difficult customers well, you need to be calm and steady, so you can employ the right skills and find the right solution. Here are some ways to stay calm when dealing with a difficult customer. 

How is your customer service? If you haven't assessed it recently, its time to start. Customer service can have a major effect on your business.  If it's good, you'll sell more and retain customers.  If its lacking, it will be hard to grow your business and achieve your goals. Here are the top 5 reasons you should periodically review and improve customer service.

When I was young, my father always took me to help with his landscaping business. Like any landscaper's son, my dad will teach me how to do his work and show me everything from working on the field to running a successful landscaping business. 

Oftentimes, while we are on the truck, my dad will stop by and chat with people. It amazes me that it seems that wherever we go, there is someone who knows him. And even if he doesn't know someone, he will still talk with them. He loves talking to strangers.

Have you ever had a customer ask if you could lower your price?  And out of fear, you decided to lower it and end up losing money?  

Confidence and competence are two different things. I'm sure you know somebody who is very confident in their skills but is not really competent when it comes to delivering the said skills.

You can be as confident as you want, but if you are not really competent at what you do, it will be easy to see if the work you did is garbage. It also goes to the business side of managing a landscaping business. You may have done a great job completing various landscaping projects but are still struggling to manage the business.