Godly Guidelines for Dealing with

Suppliers and Customers

Buck Jacobs

From: A Light Shines Bright in Babylon

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Principles for Dealing with Suppliers

1. Suppliers are to be treated according to the Golden Rule and not abused or taken advantage of unfairly. Long-term mutually beneficial relationships should be valued and promoted. The positive contributions of suppliers are to be recognized at least as quickly as their failings. Good suppliers are a gift from God, just like good employees. We need to pray for them, cultivate their support, support them and at times forgive them.

2. Unless we welcome being treated in the same way, we should not play one supplier against another to their detriment. This is a radical prescription, but remember: we are all suppliers to someone. And to use tactics on our suppliers that we would complain about when used on ourselves by our customers is pure hypocrisy.

3. Suppliers should be given as much information about our requirements as they need to do their job to our satisfaction. It is unfair to give them less.

4. Disclosing one supplier’s price to force down another’s price should be avoided. Suppliers should be encouraged to give their best effort and price the first time and negotiated prices generally should be discouraged. It is not always possible to completely avoid these things, but minimizing them will tend to build healthy, stable, long-term relationships. Getting the cheapest price doesn’t always mean making the best deal. Using unkind or inconsiderate tactics to gain the lowest price is short-term thinking and usually not Christ-like.

5. We must treat the representatives of our suppliers and potential suppliers with a least as much courtesy and respect as we would hope our representatives would receive as they perform their functions with our customers. Otherwise, we are gross hypocrites. We cannot treat our supplier’s sales people poorly, and then complain when someone else does the same to our sales representatives. Keeping appointments, being on time, respectful treatment at all times and communicating all necessary details of our requirements are simply minimums. Supplier appreciation awards or dinners, occasionally acknowledging them formally – even in writing – is not even going the second mile.

Principles for Dealing with Customers

Turning to customers, remember that they too are people who deserve your respect. You would not think we would have to say that, but the truth is that many companies see their customers not as people, but as objects to be used for profit or personal gain. They are seen as obstacles to be overcome, rather than people who may be served. They are manipulated, rather than ministered to, and relationships built on these perceptions tend to become adversarial in nature. Adversarial relationships normally are not productive in sharing the love of God.

1. Never do to any customer what you would object to a supplier doing to you, (Matt. 7:12).

2. Never intentionally encourage a customer to do anything to his detriment. Christian, this means that using or encouraging excessive drinking (or perhaps drinking at all), promiscuous sex in any form, or bribing to solicit or secure business is ungodly and not acceptable. Do not be deceived. God can never bless sin; it will always work against you and anyone involved in it. Rather, let your light shine as you build long-term, mutually beneficial relationships with your customers based on quality of service or product integrity and honesty, and service done in love. Does that sound preachy7 Well, take it up with the Boss.

3. Since you cannot win an argument with a customer (no one ever has), cultivate your listening skills instead. Actively listen and ask God to show you creative and unique ways to meet the customers’ needs. Not selling them, but listening to them. Focus groups inter-company visits, staff exchange visits, mutual celebrations all encourage the kinds of relationships that lead to mutual understanding and exchange.

4. Aim to develop trust. It takes time and experiences together for trust to ripen. After all, if you never have the opportunity to violate trust, no one can really know if you can be trusted or not.

5. See your customers as the valuable asset that they are. Remember, your paycheck is made up of their dollars.

6. Also remember that every customer’s soul is as important to Jesus as yours is or a native’s in the most remote jungle on earth. Jesus died for every one of your customers, and He loves them. So treat them as He would.

From : A Light Shines Bring in Babylon: A Handbook for Christian Business Owners,

© Buck Jacobs, 1995. Used by permission.

Buck Jacobs is the Founder and President of The C12 Group (www.thec12group.com), an organization that brings Christian business owners together to increase their business skills and show them how to use business as a platform for Christian ministry for Jesus.