The customer is always Right – Is Wrong

Reasons Why ‘The Customer Is Always Right’ Is Wrong

The phrase “The customer is always right” is typically used by businesses to convince customers that they will get good service at this company and convince employees to give customers good service. however, I think businesses should abandon this phrase once and for all.

Lets start with a real story that sets an example…

One woman who frequently flew on Southwest Airlines was constantly disappointed with every aspect of the company’s operation. In fact, she became known as the “Pen Pal” because after every flight she wrote in with a complaint.
She didn’t like the fact that the company didn’t assign seats; she didn’t like the absence of a first-class section; she didn’t like not having a meal in flight; she didn’t like Southwest’s boarding procedure; she didn’t like the flight attendants’ sporty uniforms and the casual atmosphere.
Her last letter, reciting a litany of complaints, momentarily stumped Southwest’s customer relations people. They bumped it up to Herb’s [Kelleher, CEO of Southwest at the time] desk, with a note: ‘This one’s yours.’
In sixty seconds Kelleher wrote back and said,

‘Dear Mrs. Crabapple, We will miss you. Love, Herb.’

Typically this phrase (The customer is always right) is used by businesses to convince customers that they will get good service at this company and convince employees to give customers good service. However, businesses should abandon this phrase once and for all — ironically, because it leads to worse customer service.

Here are the five reasons why "The Customer Is Always Right" is wrong….

It Makes Employees Unhappy

When you run into customers that you can’t reel back in, your loyalty is with your employees. They have to put up with this stuff every day. Just because you buy the product or service it does not give you the right to abuse your employees. You can’t treat your employees like serfs. You have to value them … If they think that you won’t support them when a customer is out of line, even the smallest problem can cause resentment. Of course, there are plenty of examples of bad employees giving lousy customer service but trying to solve this by declaring the customer “always right” is counter-productive.

It Gives Abrasive Customers an Unfair Advantage

Using the slogan “The customer is always right,” abusive customers can demand just about anything. They’re right by definition, aren’t they? This makes the employees’ jobs that much harder when trying to rein them in.

Some Customers Are Bad for Business

Most businesses think that “the more customers the better”. But some customers are quite simply bad for business. (Southwest example)

It Results in Worse Customer Service

Put The Customer Second – Put your people first and watch them kick asses. when you put the employees first, they put the customers first. Put employees first and they will be happy at work. Employees who are happy at work give better customer service

Some Customers Are Just Plain Wrong

The fact is that some customers are just plain wrong, that businesses are better of without them

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