# Letter for dropping a customer?



## TKLAWN

Wondering if anyone has a example of a letter to send a customer saying that you can no longer service them. We have two drive ways that kinda suck and are out of the way of our regular route. if anyone has any in put on how to keep it curtious and professional it would help me out.


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## terrapro

curtious and professional to me would be find someone to take them that you trust and know do a good job. maybe even trade for a couple accounts that might be out of their route. then call your customer and explain your position and tell them you have located a trusted business associate to take over for you if they are interested.

one, you show you put forth effort to help them out one last time. two, you are building your business network by giving or trading work. hopefully a win win situation.


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## redman6565

just explain to them your situation. if you cant maintain the driveways then you dont or if you dont want to then dont. be polite and just tell them the truth.


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## LoneCowboy

thank you for allowing us to be of service to you in the past years, however due to the increasing costs of doing business, we are no longer offering service to your area. You may wish to contact Mr Plow at 555-9876 as they do service this area and should be able to provide service to you. Again, thank you for your business and if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.


and really do find someone who services the area (Mr Plow aka Homer would be fine)


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## YardMedic

I agree with the couple postings ahead of me. Sometimes doing the best thing for the customer is declining the work. If you have others you know who can do the work, make that effort or at the very least give the customer a couple names. Beyond that, being upfront with them is probably the right thing to do (although discretion is good when you WANT to say their driveway is a PITA!). Good luck!


~Kevin


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## redman6565

becareful though of recommending other people to do the work because if they do a terrible job then that doesnt make you look good when your recommeding them. they all have phone books and/or the internet, they can look up other plow companies. i wouldnt get involved in that.


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## bribrius

double what you charge and they will fire you.
If they dont then now its worth it to you servicing them.


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## JohnnyRoyale

bribrius;626760 said:


> double what you charge and they will fire you.
> If they dont then now its worth it to you servicing them.


What he said.


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## MSS Mow

As much fun as some of these suggestions would be, any other serious ones out there? I'm in need of dropping a couple of customer due to schedule/routes and way low prices but wanted to be as diplomatic as can be.


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## Woodland

MSS Mow;627885 said:


> As much fun as some of these suggestions would be, any other serious ones out there? I'm in need of dropping a couple of customer due to schedule/routes and way low prices but wanted to be as diplomatic as can be.


Actually, aside from the obvious sarcasm, there were some very good suggestions. What more are you looking for?


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## ECS

I ropped one this year, and two that I used to do, then sold and new owners called. Told them that I was downsizing and after last winter I no longer wanted to work 16 hr days. All 3 were fine with that and said they understand. I did give all of them a referal company like Cowboy mentioned.


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## murray83

Possibly do a account trade with another plower? give him the ones you don't want for ones in your route area and everyone involved is happy


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## MSS Mow

Woodland;627968 said:


> Actually, aside from the obvious sarcasm, there were some very good suggestions. What more are you looking for?


Yes, there were several good suggestions, but we all know we should keep it professional, etc. And offering them another contractor's name is out of the question. What I'm looking for, and I believe the original poster was looking for is actual sample letters of what others have used, not comments like "keep it professional". I saw one example of what someone used, but that centered around offering another contractor's contact info. I was just hoping for a few more samples. Even the snow and ice guide doesn't have a sample letter for dealing with this.


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## TKLAWN

MSS Mow;628409 said:


> Yes, there were several good suggestions, but we all know we should keep it professional, etc. And offering them another contractor's name is out of the question. What I'm looking for, and I believe the original poster was looking for is actual sample letters of what others have used, not comments like "keep it professional". I saw one example of what someone used, but that centered around offering another contractor's contact info. I was just hoping for a few more samples. Even the snow and ice guide doesn't have a sample letter for dealing with this.


Exactly what he said


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## YardMedic

Is a "sample letter" just something people are looking to copy, for us to do someone's dirty work? A short story here: back in the third grade, I would read a book for the purpose of doing a book report. I had no idea what to write. Instead of asking my mom to help me with the concept of how to do it, I somehow got her to write it. Where did it get me? I write, and I write well from practice and critique. How is anyone here going to handle simple correspondance if we write letters for him? Take the concepts shared here and mold them into your own letters. If a customer knows you, they will recognize your sincerity. I could care less about your customers, so me writing YOUR letter in terms of "take a hike, jacka$$" is about the message you're going to get in a canned form letter. I have no problem helping people with concepts, but maybe a professional letter could have been drafted many times over in the time spent squabbling over "where's my sample letter?" Of course, that's just my opinion... I could be wrong!


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## Indy

If you "recomend" another plow company........recomend 2 or 3............If you recomend one, and they suck, you recomended them!!!

If you give the customer a choice and the next guy sucks, they made the decision on which one to use............., they can call one of the other 2 (that you where kind enough to provide) and work some thing better out........great and you can make contact with 3 other plowers to spread the word............


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## murray83

Exactly,if you offer a few names of guys who plow in his area he would feel alot better and would make you seem more professional than a letter in his mailbox basically saying hey i'm dropping yah and leave him hanging and we all know people talk and word spreads around 

Its a dirty deed many of us hate to do but soften the blow a bit and give a good customer service image


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## murray83

YardMedic;628617 said:


> Is a "sample letter" just something people are looking to copy, for us to do someone's dirty work? A short story here: back in the third grade, I would read a book for the purpose of doing a book report. I had no idea what to write. Instead of asking my mom to help me with the concept of how to do it, I somehow got her to write it. Where did it get me? I write, and I write well from practice and critique. How is anyone here going to handle simple correspondance if we write letters for him? Take the concepts shared here and mold them into your own letters. If a customer knows you, they will recognize your sincerity. I could care less about your customers, so me writing YOUR letter in terms of "take a hike, jacka$$" is about the message you're going to get in a canned form letter. I have no problem helping people with concepts, but maybe a professional letter could have been drafted many times over in the time spent squabbling over "where's my sample letter?" Of course, that's just my opinion... I could be wrong!


Very well said and a few times I've even met with customers to explain things out and I found they were very good about it and felt better that I took the time to meet with them and not a recieve a letter shoved in their mailbox,sometimes hearing your voice and seeing you in person is alot better than words typed on paper.


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## bribrius

I actually wanted to drop one last year but i couldnt find anyone else to plow it and i didnt want to leave them stranded so i just kept doing it. I asked them to look for someone else too and they didnt find anyone else either i guess????
I had agreed to take it originally so i felt obligated to at least find a replacement rather than leaving them hanging. Finding someone else to take over never happened. I did up the price though.


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## YardMedic

bribrius;628710 said:


> I actually wanted to drop one last year but i couldnt find anyone else to plow it and i didnt want to leave them stranded so i just kept doing it. I asked them to look for someone else too and they didnt find anyone else either i guess????
> I had agreed to take it originally so i felt obligated to at least find a replacement rather than leaving them hanging. Finding someone else to take over never happened. I did up the price though.


It's nice sometimes when you can continue what you feel is an obligation. However, when you've done everything you can, there's no harm in telling the customer you're increasing the cost because of how difficult the property is or how much farther you travel to service it. As mentioned earlier, increasing the price either makes it worth your while or makes the customer pursue other options. The increase is a simple letter as well, or a call or visit as was also mentioned as great options.


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## Woodland

MSS Mow;628409 said:


> And offering them another contractor's name is out of the question.


For my own curiosity, why are you against this concept?


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## redman6565

MSS Mow;628409 said:


> Yes, there were several good suggestions, but we all know we should keep it professional, etc. And offering them another contractor's name is out of the question. What I'm looking for, and I believe the original poster was looking for is actual sample letters of what others have used, not comments like "keep it professional". I saw one example of what someone used, but that centered around offering another contractor's contact info. I was just hoping for a few more samples. Even the snow and ice guide doesn't have a sample letter for dealing with this.


well ive been doing this for 7 years now and granted i dont dabble in the residential area much anymore i dont remember ever hearing of anyone 'writing' letters to their customers telling them they cant service them anymore. and i guess i dont understand why you have to write a letter. just call them and tell them you dont want to service their driveways anymore, its fairly simple.


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## MSS Mow

YardMedic;628617 said:


> Is a "sample letter" just something people are looking to copy, for us to do someone's dirty work? A short story here: back in the third grade, I would read a book for the purpose of doing a book report. I had no idea what to write. Instead of asking my mom to help me with the concept of how to do it, I somehow got her to write it. Where did it get me? I write, and I write well from practice and critique. How is anyone here going to handle simple correspondance if we write letters for him? Take the concepts shared here and mold them into your own letters. If a customer knows you, they will recognize your sincerity. I could care less about your customers, so me writing YOUR letter in terms of "take a hike, jacka$$" is about the message you're going to get in a canned form letter. I have no problem helping people with concepts, but maybe a professional letter could have been drafted many times over in the time spent squabbling over "where's my sample letter?" Of course, that's just my opinion... I could be wrong!


Well thank you for my third grade lesson today. I understand your point of not having someone else doing all our dirty work, however, there are times when some help from another professional is needed. Asking for letter samples is no different than asking for help bidding a lot, finding a source for salt, recommending an insurance company, asking for sample contracts or asking for assistance with installing a plow or some lights. True, it would be best if we learned all these things on our own, however, it just doesn't make sense. If another company (or individual) has come up with a more efficient, cost effective manner of doing something, why can't we all benefit from that??



Woodland;629051 said:


> For my own curiosity, why are you against this concept?


 Typically I wouldn't be against it, however on this one particular situation, I have already tried to get 4 different guys to take this account. No one wants it. I'm not going to give these people the names of contractors that have already told me no and I won't reccomend the other guys that are available. So, it's more of an individual situation here. I would normally give three other names if I were going to drop someone, but this case is different.



redman6565;629107 said:


> well ive been doing this for 7 years now and granted i dont dabble in the residential area much anymore i dont remember ever hearing of anyone 'writing' letters to their customers telling them they cant service them anymore. and i guess i dont understand why you have to write a letter. just call them and tell them you dont want to service their driveways anymore, its fairly simple.


Businesses write letters to their customers all the time, whether it be to cancel service or to say thanks for your business. It's good business practice. A "fairly simple" phone call is not always that simple.

I didn't realize this would cause such a stink. We're just looking for some assistance in writing a letter. If you don't want to help, then take a hike.


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## Superior L & L

Dear Mr Smith 
Since ive been servicing your home you've been nothing but i pain in the a$$. So it pain's me greatly to say "HIT THE ROAD JACK"and i will not be coming back no more no more.
Get some other sucker to plow your drivway
Catch ya Later 
Billy Bob




I think this letter will work its right to the point


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## redman6565

MSS Mow...i understand businesses write letters all the time. this is a common practice. but its also when im writing one of my customers over 400,000 worth of work, not 200 for a driveway. you're over thinking this way too much. if you want to write somehting down, then go for it, but dont over think it, again its a $200 driveway nothing more, nothing less.


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## JD Dave

redman6565;629407 said:


> MSS Mow...i understand businesses write letters all the time. this is a common practice. but its also when im writing one of my customers over 400,000 worth of work, not 200 for a driveway. you're over thinking this way too much. if you want to write somehting down, then go for it, but dont over think it, again its a $200 driveway nothing more, nothing less.


I agree..................


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## YardMedic

MSS Mow;629352 said:


> there are times when some help from another professional is needed.


And we've been helping with HOW to write it, and there was even a letter with a recommendation of who to call (which you can omit & still have a good, brief note to start with).



MSS Mow;629352 said:


> Asking for letter samples is no different than asking for help bidding a lot.... sample contracts....


"help" bidding lots is the same problem where people want full quotes and not just how to arrive at a fair price



MSS Mow;629352 said:


> If another company (or individual) has come up with a more efficient, cost effective manner of doing something, why can't we all benefit from that??


Third grade lesson again... you don't develop your own style or abilities to do it. What happens when someone calls back to ask you a question -- come back to PS & have us handle it too?



MSS Mow;629352 said:


> If you don't want to help, then take a hike.


You're not taking ANY positive comments away from this forum, and every post has contained assistance. Help comes in a variety of forms that you might not be expecting, but that doesn't make it any less valuable. We all get focused on what we expect for a result and sometimes overlook other options.

When you can't find anyone to take over a client, tell them that (it makes you look better for trying). It's not unreasonable to say that you can't service the property for reasons including (1) distance, and (2) maneuverability, because of liability or cost-effectiveness, and fellow contractors have been unable to accept this particular driveway for the same reasons. You hate to lose a good customer of X years, but you can't service them at a lesser quality just because the conditions affect the end result beyond your control.

Now, to modify a line of yours -- If you don't want OUR help (in all of its forms), then...


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## powerjoke

redman6565;626719 said:


> be polite and just tell them the truth.


i don't think the truth will help much. as Mark and Paul have already given sample letter's like that and MSS told them to take a hike  lol



bribrius;626760 said:


> double what you charge and they will fire you.
> If they dont then now its worth it to you servicing them.


BEST IDEA I HAVE HEARD SO FAR  .....pappy alway's told me " son if you don't want to do something price it so high that you wanna do it"

if youre smart about it and the client has enough money....those will be the only 2 account's that you need.

Now, i have given you my opnion. on how to run or ruin youre buisness off.....DO NOT come back and whine about "C'mon guy's write me a letter, do my homework for me", 'cause i don't give a damn or wanna hear youre snibble's...understood?

BTW: BRAVO! yard medic ....you'll have a PSTP badge before you know it lol

pj


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## MSS Mow

YardMedic;629425 said:


> *You're not taking ANY positive comments away from this forum*, and every post has contained assistance. Help comes in a variety of forms that you might not be expecting, but that doesn't make it any less valuable. We all get focused on what we expect for a result and sometimes overlook other options.
> 
> Now, to modify a line of yours -- If you don't want OUR help (in all of its forms), then...


YardMedic, you're absolutely correct. After rereading the entire thread, I realize there is more positive helpful advice than I thought there was. I've been accused before of only seeing what I want to see, and this is a perfect example. It's one of many flaws I have. :crying:

I sometimes will take the couple smart ass ridiculous comments and run with them. I apologize for that and for not taking the positive advice given and using it. You had given some good advice and I thank you for that.



powerjoke;629439 said:


> *i don't think the truth will help much. as Mark and Paul have already given sample letter's like that and MSS told them to take a hike*  lol
> 
> Now, i have given you my opnion. on how to run or ruin youre buisness off.....DO NOT come back and whine about "C'mon guy's write me a letter, do my homework for me", 'cause i don't give a damn or wanna hear youre snibble's...understood?
> pj


Clearly that was not my intention. I hope they don't feel that way. That comment was aimed at the few ridiculous comments given. I do find it comical though how so many will help when questions are posted, then suddenly will jump down someone's throat for asking for help. No rhyme or reason to who gets the help and who get's lambasted.

If you "don't give a damn or wanna hear my snibble's" then why waste your valuable time on little ole me?? Your first post of this thread is to criticize me? I realize you give a lot of positive insight on this sight, but your comments are a perfect fit for my "take a hike" comment. You don't want to hear my snibbles and I don't want to hear yours. YardMedic had some good advice and then backed it up when I went on a tangent. You simply are criticizing.



redman6565;629407 said:


> MSS Mow...i understand businesses write letters all the time. this is a common practice. but its also when im writing one of my customers over 400,000 worth of work, not 200 for a driveway. you're over thinking this way too much. if you want to write somehting down, then go for it, but dont over think it, again its a $200 driveway nothing more, nothing less.


Point taken redman. I have the unfortunate task of trying to keep everyone, including clients that I am dumping, happy. I live in a tiny community and keeping a good reputation is critical. That is why I seemed to be placing so much emphasis on what to most is a trivial task. Thank you for your input.

I have taken the positive advice given and have crafted a letter I will use. Thank you all for your help. I hope the original poster has gotten enough help as well.


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## powerjoke

i don't get it....you know to play good cop bad cop you need two cop's don't you?

i would say that you don't have to worry 'bout the nice guy in you telling them you don't wanna work for them.

if you READ my post, i gave you my opinion....and that was the same as Bri's RAISE THE FREAKIN PRICE! 

you referred to "some people get help some people dont" .......has it happened to you before this thread? maybe the problem lie's with you and not PS 

sorry for all of us trashing youre worth while thread 

PJ


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## TKLAWN

Sorry i asked now can we just drop it?


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## mike33

I have found in my landscaping and snow plowing business you can't beat plain honesty.
Mike


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## Grampa Plow

Yardmedic...very well put about the form letter. Also good advice from Bri and Yardmedic on business obligations...you have to have ethics in every business. The other thing about increasing your price due to difficulty and travel...when they keep you on at the higher price you gotta figure your doing good work to keep them happy!


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