No one wants to have to end a business relationship with a customer, especially if the relationship has lasted a long while and been profitable. However, circumstances change, even among business clients. A personal conflict or business matter that cannot be resolved amicably gives impetus to severing the relationship. There is a right and wrong way to stop doing business with customers.
The nature of the relationship will dictate how you end it. You have to put a value on the customer relationship and act accordingly when severing it. Any disgruntled customer, treated badly, will tell someone else about the treatment, embellishing the story to earn a sympathetic ear.
Ultimately, you must confront the problem. Don't expect an untenable situation to resolve itself--any outcome is seldom positive. But don't make libelous or slanderous accusations, especially within earshot of someone who might be called to testify should the situation become a court matter. You want to end the business relationship amicably without making the matter a personal vendetta against an individual.
Give the customer every opportunity to redress the problem. If he does not make a sincere effort to fix what's wrong, the business has no recourse but to end the relationship. If the relationship has been a long, high-revenue one, a manager may want to formally discuss dissolution of the relationship to minimize an abrupt loss of service to the client, loss of revenue for the company, or harm to employees. An attorney might have to draft a dissolution of business letter with a timetable for formally ending the relationship and satisfying outstanding debts. If the customer has been of minimal value, a polite verbal or email request to stop doing business with the store can suffice.
Refrain from making any decisions in haste. It is important to minimize the public relations damage from a business relationship gone bad, even when the business itself is faultless. The goal is to do the least harm as possible, given the circumstances.
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