No, the Customer is NOT always right!

About 30 years ago, I attended a management course in Dublin. I know I mentioned this somewhere previously – so let’s hope this is a different story. There were about 30 of us from all over the country doing the course. I was the oldest and most of the other students had their fees paid by the companies they worked for. I paid for myself, having a thirst to learn more and put the knowledge to some use.

That being said, the world had already taught me a lot of the course material, but I nonetheless gained gems of knowledge that still come in useful to this day. There were positive themes, lectures, discussions and problem solving. For example, one day we gave a lot of time to two simple words – ‘everything counts’ – and there is hardly a day goes by that I don’t quote that one.

The course facilitator was the very versed Kevin Fahey from Athlone. One morning our assignment was, ‘how to deal with the difficult customer’. After the lecture, slides and brain-storming, there was a Q&A session. ‘What if you cannot satisfy the customer; what if you exhaust every avenue, before realising that the customer has ‘their knife in you’ and the only purpose of prolonging this is to give you a hard time?’ I asked, near the end. Kevin didn’t give a straight answer to my ceist, so I proceeded with my premise and these were my words verbatim:

‘I know that I cannot win by proving someone wrong from my side of the counter, Kevin, but deep down somewhere in me… maybe down here (patting my stomach) I reserve me the right to tell somebody to f##k off after I have been pushed over the edge of reasonableness.’

Ten years later I happened to bump into Kevin on the street in Mullingar. After the warm greetings and customary small talk, Kevin asked me; ‘Do you remember what you said about the impossible-to-please customer that morning in Newlands Cross?’

‘Just happens that I do’, I replied.

‘Well, of course you know you were right!’ my mentor conceded!

I read in a newspaper last week that retail businesses cannot hold on to staff due to the level of customer abuse from ‘entitled’ members of the public. Abuse of shop workers, by an ever increasing cluster of those who feel they have a right to take out their frustrations on staff, has reached an epidemic.

Everybody is engrained with the notion that ‘the customer is always right’. London retailer, Harry Gordon Selfridge, coined that phrase in the 20-century. That came at a time when the customer was not respected and had no rights. But now it has gone too far in the opposite direction. Friendliness and consideration for the other fellow should be a two-way street. Strictly adhering to the philosophy of the customer being always right has contributed to unreasonable and rude behaviour in the commercial world of today.

I brought home a plaque from America a long time ago and it hung behind a few counters before I don’t know where it finished up. The first place it was displayed was behind the counter of the post-office in Longwood, where I was sub-postmaster. The sign read; ‘Courtesy Is Contagious’.

Naturally, the greater onus to be friendly and helpful rests with the person whose job it is to leave a satisfied customer. You won’t survive long in business if you are not prepared to go the extra mile and give the customer the benefit – within reason. But the customer being always right has gone too far when some believe it bestows licence to treat retail staff badly. A sign of the times we live is reflected in the increasing number of notices appearing in shops and public service offices which warn; ‘Abuse of staff will not be tolerated’.

It’s as if good manners and politeness are seen as old hat and – even weakness in some quarters. Crudeness, rudeness and aggression have crept into normal society; but what can you expect when this is what we hear at the top? If powerful people, like Donald Trump, can break all the social norms, is it not natural that ordinary people assume that is the correct way to behave – and a young girl serving a cup of coffee to a yahoo will pay the price.

Like so many other facets of life, the balance is right there in the middle. Over time the ‘customer is always right’ has lost the benefit for which it was intended long ago. It has enabled unrealistic demands and abusive behaviour. Good business practice is to seek that balanced approach, emphasising instead that the customer deserves to be listened to. This perspective upholds customer satisfaction – but equally respecting employees and setting a healthy boundary.

Just remember; ‘the columnist is always right!’.

Don’t Forget

No one is a failure who can truly say, ‘I have done my best’.