Bad Users Toxic Users

Most individuals in any sort of business or customer facing role have had to deal with hard customers or users. Whether it was the vault of the business or the vault of the user, it can be taxing to one’s patience to have to deal with these “bad” users. These bad users come in every shape and size. Whether it is a fault of one’s personality, lack of empathy, or little trust in the process, there are ways one can navigate a bad user. What if the customer isn’t bad. What if they are toxic and actively hamper one’s development process. Here we will navigate how one should deal with negativity and toxicity when trying to make a product for them.

Surviving the transition of a changing workspace is hard, especially when you are a little more neuro diverse than most. I have been able to keep or change a few rituals to keep me close to as productive as if I was home while in the office. These changes have really helped me and how I deal with my brain’s different approaches to environments and problems. Working the office is great. Helping and interacting with my team is even better, and in large part the reason why going back into the office is fulfilling. However, you can’t succeed in your own roles if distractions keep you from completing your own task. These are the lessons I have learned that have kept me close to as productive at home as in the office.

In the book User Centered Design, Lowdermilk helps us understand how to deal with negativity. Me mentions that a commitment to staying positive is a great place to start when dealing with negative users. Framing a problem is the first step one should take when problem solving, and the same is true for working with bad customers. Frame the problem, focus on your own positivity, and try to understand why they are being negative. Did the user have a bad experience in the past? Are they not confident in their own abilities and need to be toxic to be heard? Regardless of the situation we should remain positive and confident in the face of adversity.

The next piece of advice we can provide is to have a candid and open conversation with your bad user. The Harvard Business Review provides this tip in candid terms, as we should also be candid with our customer. It is possible they do not know that they are being that negative. It is also possible that no one has told them that they are treating others poorly. It’s hard to say without this open conversation. We need to be honest with ourselves and our users. Our toxic users will not know what we are feeling if we do not communicate with them. Like any relationship, all are built on communication. Communication is the key to understanding and gaining perspective.

Lastly, we may need to fire our customer. Our first priority should always be ourselves and our business. If we cannot take care of ourselves, we cannot take care of our other customers. Sometimes, regardless of the situation, we need to let go of our bad customers. We will be happier, and our other customers will be happier. We cannot get far if there is a 45-pound weight over our neck, and sometimes customers can feel like that. If all else fails, and we have tried every avenue to make our users happy, and they still are not, maybe you weren’t the best individual for the role. Maybe they were not the best customers for us to take on. Regardless, it’s alright to let people go to find their own way.

Dealing with bad customers is like working through a rocky relationship. Communication, patience, and setting expectations are key for our relationship to bloom. If after counseling, remediation, and communication the relationship is still bad, a breakup might be in order. As hard as it is to say goodbye to someone, we have been close with it’s often for the best for our individual growth and happiness.