The mantra in business has long been, “the customer is always right.” Is that still true? Is the customer always right? Maybe, but again maybe not. Today, a customer is more likely to complain, cause a fuss or demand changes and make unreasonable demands. A disgruntled customer is also more likely to jump online and leave a bad review.
In light of this, why isn’t the customer always right?
Is The Customer Always Right?
Here are some reasons you may want to give your employees, and yourself, more support and not give in to the customer and his or her demands.
- It diminishes your employee’s power and autonomy. If you have hired and trained your people and contractors well, you need to trust that they followed your policies and procedures and that the customer just might not be as right as he or she thinks they are. You will have unhappy employees who feel you don’t value them — and just may leave.
- It gives a customer the upper hand and may make an angry customer even more abrasive. This may mean the squeaky wheel is getting the grease and bad customers may receive better treatment (simply to shut them down) than does a good customer simply because the bad customer is angrier and louder.
- Maybe you don’t want that customer. How will your business suffer if you tell that bad customer, “we appreciate your business, but we don’t want to do business with you any longer?” Will you have to close the doors because of this one customer? Will you get more customers if you kick the bad one to the curb? You just might.
If you’re still operating under the adage that the customer is always right, you may want to rethink that. You need to talk with your employees and see what the situation is with the customer who is always unhappy. How can you support your employee — the lifeblood of good customer service?
Have you ever bid a bad customer adieu? Did your business suffer?