If a new customer comes into your premises with an urgent problem. You've never met them before and they are pleading with you that they have an emergency. Here's the clue - put the brakes on big time.

There is nothing wrong with an urgent customer (we all have the odd crisis) and there is certainly nothing wrong with a new customer (we all need more of them) but there definitely is something wrong with the new customer who's job is urgent. We suggest, there are a number of reasons why you should you go slow with the "New Urgent" customer:

• They have not paid their current supplier and probably have cash flow problems.
• They are not from your area and as such are not likely to become repeat business.
• They are lousy at planning and every job they have is "Urgent" so they will always be a bad customer.
• They are the type who skip from one supplier to another and generally always tends to shit-can the last guy as way of trying endear the next.
• They are lost.

What ever the reason (and it could be a combination of the above), you will generally always get screwed by the "New Urgent" customer. Certainly - ask for cash-up-front and do not make the mistake of slipping them ahead of any of your existing customers regardless of how desperate they sound.

From the other side of the fence - Never become the New urgent customer.