Having a regular or ongoing client is great for company profits, but it can be downright unpleasant if you have a client like the one in this story.

Check out how this team turned their situation around.

You said only reply with exactly what they ask? Got it.

I used to work at a logistics company where we handled shipping for big retail clients.

One client was notoriously rude and always sent short, unclear emails asking for updates, then they’d get angry if we gave too much information or didn’t phrase things exactly how they wanted.

The solution was easy.

After one too many complaints, our manager pulled us into a meeting and told us, from now on, just answer exactly what they ask, nothing more, nothing less, no extra info, no small talk.

Only what’s in their message.

I asked, even if I know they’re going to follow up asking for the rest? And he said, yes and to let them.

So the next morning, that same client emailed me,
“Where is truck 4810?”

That’s all they wrote, no greeting, no detail. So I replied,
“On the road.”

A few minutes later they ask,
“ETA?”

I replied,
“3:42 PM.”

It remained straightforward.

Then came, “Driver’s name?”
I answered that.

Then,

“Does it have the right pallets?”
“Yes,” I responded.

“Dock 3 or 6?”
“Dock 3.”

“Did you inform the receiver?”
“Yes.”

This went on for ten back-and-forth emails, each one with a single question, each one answered with exactly what they asked.

Then it took effect with a satisfying result.

Eventually, they CC’d my manager and wrote asked why his employees were being so unhelpful.

“We need proactive communication.”

My manager replied, “We’ve instructed our staff to answer exactly what’s asked, as per your previous requests.”

After that, their emails suddenly became more polite and clear, and my inbox became a lot quieter too.

Here is what people are saying.

A self-absorbed musician. Never heard of that.

LOL not helpful.

Me, too. I hate this perception that being concise means you are being rude.

Same! I wish they had done this earlier.

Narcissists aren’t known for considering other people’s time.

Normalize firing bad clients.

If you liked that story, check out this post about an oblivious CEO who tells a web developer to “act his wage”… and it results in 30% of the workforce being laid off.