Customers Get Fired Too…………

By Dan Meylan

“In 5 decades of operating agencies and other businesses….we always looked for ways to remove unprofitable clients….”

“Once a year I would ask the Account managers (not the producers) for the their 5 highest maintenence accounts….we either increased our premiums or fees or asked them to find another agency…the account managers loved it! The producer’s always resisted. The agency always won!”

Editor’s Note: Years ago a school district changed from BCBS to another carrier. The district had been with BCBS for +15 years. The move to the new company was met with anger by district employees who complained incessantly throughout the year.

Renewal time was approaching. The group representative (a long time friend of ours who is now retired) sat down at his computer (or was it a typewriter?) and wrote a renewal letter. He hand delivered it to the district’s business manager who read it, looked up and asked “Why are you terminating us!”

His reply was “Look, you’re not happy with us, we’re not happy with you, so it just doesn’t make sense to continue to do business with each other.”

Years later while doing consulting work for a TPA I advised them to non-renew upon renewal. “Why?” asked the TPA president. “Because this group bitches and complains all the time, makes unreasonable demands, and is going to cancel you anyway the first chance they can. Your staff is spending too much time on this account and you are not making any money on it.  They are making you look bad, affecting your reputation in a terrible and long lasting way. You need to run from this case as fast as you can.” Unfortunately this TPA did not take the advice and was fired a year later.