Rick Baggett was working on an ill-mannered horse near Oxford, Miss. It kept setting back on the rope and jumping around, making it difficult to shoe. It even kicked him, but the client said that the farrier was being too rough with the horse.

Baggett finished the horse with a much gentler hand, but the damage was done. The client was angry enough to never use his services again. She also vented to friends and family about the altercation, contacted some of his other clients to trash his reputation and even threatened to sue.

This probably is a familiar scenario for most farriers. For Baggett, this case involves one of many clients that he has had disagreements with during his 40-plus years as a farrier in Northeast Mississippi. Most have been simple misunderstandings that were easily handled through conversation. However, there are the occasional clients, whether right or wrong, who were unwilling to see his side.

And as a service professional, keeping clients happy and maintaining communication with them has been extremely important to Baggett. This is the foundation of his livelihood, but also is his brand.

Just one upset customer can hurt the perception of a footcare practice in a way that leads to fewer customers and less money. Large companies spend millions every year promoting their image and keeping customers happy.

Since small business owners don’t have such deep pockets, they must make customer service part of their everyday marketing.

Defending Your Image

According to B.J. Bueno, with The Cult Branding, a brand is not only crucial for small businesses, it might even be more important for them than larger companies. Because a farrier practice has a smaller customer base than large companies, it can be immediately damaged by a handful of angry customers who vent their frustrations to other horse owners and trainers.

Luckily, these customers can often be made happy through more personalized service, such as listening to and commiserating with complaints.

The occasional angry customers are more easily dealt with than people who Bueno classifies as “Brand Haters” and “Brand Terrorists.”

Brand haters are people who usually believe that they have been seriously mistreated or had their concerns ignored. They actively voice their frustrations through some form of medium, such as Internet sites like Yelp or Angie’s List, in a way to get back at a company or by contacting fellow clients, as in Baggett’s case.

Brand terrorists are equally angry, but go beyond retribution by actually trying to hurt a business in an irreparable way. They will dedicate more time and resources to attack the business, such as generating a website or Facebook page targeting it.

What The Big Boys Do

While no farrier will ever have the same level of reputation and recognition as national or international corporations, the larger companies’ practices can be used to keep footcare customers happy. The most important lesson to be learned, according to Bueno, is providing a clear concept of service.

“Businesses should outline beforehand what needs to be done,” says Bueno. “You have to set a standard of service, a list of promises and always live up to them.”

This alone should prevent most problems with customers. If the customer understands the goals and how these will be accomplished, then they have fewer reasons to get upset.

So much of a farrier’s work is far beyond trimming and shoeing. Consider the various needs you need to deliver to each horse and client. For example, there could be complications with therapeutic shoeing, perhaps with an owner’s overly optimistic understanding of the condition of their horse’s feet.

One way to state the concept of service is a contract. A contract can clearly state each party’s responsibilities. It can establish expectations for the owner, as well as their responsibilities in the business relationship.

“Make sure you have similar expectations,” says Bueno. “The better the conceptual agreement is at the beginning, the better the overall experience.”

A signed contract protects both a farrier and the customer, and is extremely easy with today’s smartphones and tablets. A base contract can be created, with specific information details that can be easily changed to suit the needs of the customer and can be either emailed to new customers or signed on a mobile device right at the barn.

Regardless of contractual agreements, there are times when customers become angry. This could simply be a misunderstanding, such as when the farrier is supposed to arrive, the proper way to clean up the work area or even a misunderstood comment by the farrier or helper. It could also be how a farrier handles a tough horse. In these situations, take the high road to defuse the entire situation.

“Put your ego aside,” suggests Bueno. “If you’re wrong, apologize and try to remedy the situation.”

In fact, even when the farrier is in the right, an apology can prevent the customer from looking for another farrier, or at least counteract the anger that can turn the customer into a hater, or even a terrorist.

One of the worst approaches is reaction. Arguing with a client is not usually going to solve any problems, and could very well create additional problems, especially in a public barn where potential clients can view the confrontation.

In other situations, clients can make irritating or unrealistic requests. One time a client asked Baggett to trim a mare outside because her stud “didn’t like getting wet.” It wasn’t raining hard so Baggett agreed even though the horse was being held 50 yards away in the lot. With his helper fuming, Baggett quietly walked out and trimmed the mare.

His sacrifice ensured that he would continue trimming the client’s 20 plus mares every couple of months, and receiving a large check for his effort. Baggett finds that there are certain things you may need to tolerate to work with the public.

It also made it more likely the client would provide beneficial word-of-mouth advertising both unsolicited and if asked. As you well know, horse people talk to other horse people, seeking advice on equipment, training and farriers.

In public barns, new horse owners will talk to their fellow boarders about who trims or shoes their horses. Both good and bad experiences will be related.

One way to keep clients happy is to anticipate their needs and manage expectations by getting to know them. These goals can be built into an overall schedule. This schedule can also be stored in a smartphone or tablet, and can even be used to email a reminder to a client that it is nearing time for a shoeing, ensuring steady work throughout the year.

Getting A Bad Review

Of course, in this day and age, the Internet is the most popular location for review, both bad and good, and many people conduct Internet searches before purchasing goods and services. Many farriers have a web presence for both promotion and information, which is good if a potential client types a name into a search engine. However, it can also cause problems if harmful or false information is found.

Most people seldom search past the top three links shown during a search, and if the top search information lists bad reviews, then business can be lost. Bad reviews can be fought, but first they must be found.

If you’ve never Googled your name, then you don’t know what is out there, good or bad. Start by typing your name and your business’ name into the most popular search engines, Google and Bing. If a customer has venomously attacked you online, it could show up on the first page, but search deeper. Then, check out review sites like Yelp or the more equine-focused sites. There might be a single bad review that just hasn’t been web optimized, resulting in a low response on search engines.

If there are no bad reviews, be sure to check back every few months. If, however, a customer has made a complaint, see if you can fix the problem. Once again, it might just have been a misunderstanding. Even if you can’t convince the customer to take down the review, responding shows that you are willing to try and understand customers’ concerns. Posting a polite response also provides your side of the situation to other potential clients. If you can’t resolve the issue, there are other ways to try to revise your online reviews.

Start by writing a letter to the owner of the website asking that the review to be taken down. While the website has no obligation to remove the review, it doesn’t hurt to ask. However, be sure to be polite and resist the urge to threaten legal action, as there is little a lawyer can actually do, and such a threat could very well backfire.

If neither approach is successful, there are only two more options available. The first is to hire one of the companies that provide Internet scrubbing services, such as Reputation Defender and Integrity Defenders, these companies have risen because of the anonymous nature of the Internet. These firms provide both long-term and single-time use of their services.

Of course, you could produce the same results with some Internet savvy and public relations skills, but since it would take time away from your business, it must be carefully weighed.

The easiest way to combat it is to find happy customers to post reviews on sites like Yelp and CustomerReview.com. Large companies routinely encourage fans to post favorable comments on a variety of Internet venues.

There is no way to completely eliminate Internet content — once it’s posted, it can be there forever. However, the more positive news you can produce and drive attention to, the farther down the search page the negative reviews will go.

While keeping clients happy is a part of any business, it’s crucial for farriers, considering the closeness of horse owners. Baggett reminds that you may need to deal with client inconveniences of tough horses or conditions. But in your pursuit of quality customer service, never forget there is one inconvenience you should never tolerate — not getting paid. His advice there is pretty simple: use the resources available and don’t work for them again.