Tips For Dealing With Difficult Vendors At Your Business

As a business owner, you’ll likely discover that you need to work with third parties or vendors at some point to operate your company successfully and achieve your goals. The challenging part about it all is that not all vendors are created equal or will provide excellent service and be seamless to work with. You may discover that someone you’ve chosen to do business with isn’t living up to their standards.

You need a plan for dealing with difficult vendors at your business so you can succeed in this area. Learn some tips that will help you navigate these muddy waters and give you a better idea of what you can do when you are facing obstacles and miscommunications with your vendors.

Identify the Issues

Your first step should be to identify the issues when dealing with difficult vendors at your business. For example, it may be that the work isn’t up to the agreed-upon standard, there’s a lack of follow-up support, or they’re missing deadlines that you agreed to previously. Take the time to review what was discussed and what promises they made to you. Ask your employees who are working closely with them as well and see what the problems are from their viewpoints. You must know what to specifically address and bring up with them so you can begin to problem-solve and move forward.

Work on Better Communication

Having open and honest communication is essential and key when doing business with anyone. Therefore, when you’re dealing with difficult vendors at your business you should do what you can to work on having better communication. It may be that they don’t clearly understand your goals and objectives or what your expectations are for them. Sit down and have a conversation to work through some of the misconceptions and then come up with a way to stay in better touch. It may be that you need to have daily or weekly check-ins via email or on the phone so you can ensure you’re always on the same page. The better you two communicate and understand one another, the smoother it’ll go and fewer complications you’ll encounter. Some vendors have a bad attitude or poor communication and you should know that it’s okay to call them out on these issues.

Get Everything in Writing

Another tip when dealing with difficult vendors at your business is to get everything you say and agree to in writing. Contracts are the best ways to ensure the vendor follows through on what they tell you they’re going to do. Should they fail to deliver on their promise or complete the terms of the contract then you need to consider contacting a breach of contract lawyer who can evaluate the situation further and take proper action if it’s necessary. It’s an instance that can seriously disrupt your business and you being able to serve your customers, so you must take action immediately when any type of dispute arises or your vendor fails to perform a service.

Make A List of Pros & Cons

Sometimes it’ll become clearer to you if the working relationship is a good fit or not when you evaluate the various aspects and details of it. Therefore, sit down and make a list of pros and cons that you can review and think about before making any decisions about continuing to work with them or not. You may come to realize there are some actions you can live with and others they’ve taken that truly have a negative impact on your business that you simply can’t overlook. It’ll give you more insights into what’s going on and motivate you to break up with your vendor and head in another direction if you feel it’s in your best interest.  

Be Proactive

When dealing with difficult vendors at your business it’s also a good idea to be proactive in your approach. You shouldn’t notice problems and then hope that they go away. Instead, escalate and address these matters in a timely manner. You’ll be more likely to find solutions and salvage the relationship this way. It may be that there’s a miscommunication occurring that a simple conversation can rectify. Monitor how it’s going with your vendor closely and don’t be afraid to speak up if you see that there are issues that are slowly getting more complicated and challenging over time. You want to make sure you take an assertive and professional approach and let them know that you’re not happy but that you’re willing to hear them out first.

Research Other Options

When you have a difficult vendor that doesn’t seem to understand you even after you talk to them in detail then it might be time to move on. Don’t be afraid to research your other options to see what else is out there so you can improve your business. You may find another vendor to not only be more reasonable in price but also easier to work with. It’s best to have an alternative in mind and a backup plan before you decide it’s time to walk away. Do your homework and ask around to see what vendors other companies use and are happy with too. Read reviews online and figure out which solutions may be most suitable for you and could make your life easier. As the client, you don’t want to feel like you’re being pushed around or that your needs aren’t being met. Even though you may have been working together with your vendor for a while, sometimes change and having a fresh start is the best solution.

Try to Find A Compromise

You’ll feel better about the situation when you do all that’s in your power to try to work it out before stepping away. Try your best to find a compromise with your vendor and figure out what you can do to make sure that the same issues don’t keep popping up in the future. Ask them what they need from you and what you can do to help them perform their jobs better and deliver what you require. If you both put forth more effort then you may discover that your relationship improves and they start to do a better job of meeting your needs. For instance, maybe they need the information delivered to them sooner on your end so they can hit your deadlines. You need to make sure that you’re getting your money’s worth and both making an effort to improve your situation. If you find them to be falling short and not willing to compromise and give more then it may be time to move on.

These are some useful tips that will allow you to properly deal with difficult vendors at your business. When you apply them at your workplace you’ll soon find that you can successfully steer your company in the right direction when it comes to encountering obstacles in this area. One of the best actions you can take is to address problems head-on instead of waiting for them to go away because they might end up escalating more. 

Be patient with the process because you might not have the answers you need about how to move forward right away. You need time to evaluate the situation and think about how you want to respond and handle it before taking action. Keep in mind that while change can be hard to accept and follow through with, there are always other options out there and that you shouldn’t have to remain in an unhappy and unsatisfactory relationship with a vendor.