Top 5 reasons why “The Customer Is Always Right” is wrong

One Response to Top 5 reasons why “The Customer Is Always Right” is wrong

1. Jcat Board says:

   February 1, 2014 at 11:57 pm

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   For many businesses, these are two bedrock values they live by. The customer is always right and, the customer can do no wrong. What about you and your organization? Do your managers and/or superiors preach to you that the customer is always right?

   Many do and at one time I used to, but not anymore. I’ve come to realize training your employees the customer is always right does more harm than it does good. Here are five reasons why I believe “the customer is always right” is wrong.

   Makes employees unhappy – Some customers are just down right mean and abrasive.

   They think nothing of ripping into employees to get their way. If you believe they are always right, then you will end up siding with the abrasive customer over your own employees. Not a good, long term situation. Where should loyalty lie? If you’ve done a good job of hiring and training your staff, you should always trust them over the unruly customer.

   Gives abrasive customers an unfair advantage – Think about it! If they’re always right, they can demand just about anything and expect to get it. Will they abuse this? Absolutely! Plus, it gives them an advantage over the nice customers who really enjoy what you have to offer. Focus on those good customers and keep them coming back.

   Some customers are bad for business – The story is told of a man who used to book his holidays and business trips through a travel agent in Sheffield.

   Every time he made a booking and after his journey, he would write a complaint letter. It was obvious he didn’t like anything about the travel agency; apart from the part refund or compensation to keep him happy, but finally the customer relations folks didn’t know what else to do so they bumped his last letter up to the company founder and CEO. Within 60 seconds he fired back the following response: “Dear Mr. Blaskey, We will miss you. Best Wishes, Ted”.

   Ted R the company founder and CEO understood this customer was not good for his company. If he tried to satisfy him, he would lose sight of all the positive attributes that made his travel agency so successful. He understood that sometimes you have to fire the customer. Don’t lose sleep over the customers you can’t please. Instead, cut them loose and take great care of those who love what you’re doing.

   Can result in worse customer service – Siding with an abrasive customer over your employees shows them they’re not valued and treating them fairly is not important to you. It also shows them they have no right to respect and have to put up with everything that customer feels like dishing out. If your employees don’t feel valued and trusted by you, how do you think they’re going treat your customers? Put your staff first and they’ll put your guests first. They need to know you’ve got their back when they start getting “attacked” by the unruly guest.

   Some customers are just plain wrong and everyone knows it – If everyone, including you, knows that customer is wrong, why try to make everyone think they’re right? You’re only fooling yourself and hurting your business.

   At the end of the day, the customer may not always be right…but they will always be the customer. You just need to decide which customers you want to keep. Firing the abrasive and unruly customers will give you more time and resources to focus on the guests who truly deserve your attention and who, in turn, will be loyal to you.