Does it not sound right? Well, you read the title correctly - it's not a mistake. The customer is not always right and you will soon find out why.
Do you know the history behind the so-called customer relationship principle? Harry Gordon Selfridge, the founder of the Selfridge luxury store chain in London, came up with this sentence to encourage employees to provide quality services to each customer. The principle was quickly taken over in the business world, and the client was crowned on the throne of business.
Why, now, more than 100 years later, do we believe that this principle is no longer relevant? Because it doesn't work anymore.
Here’s an example from the activity of one entrepreneur:
One of his company's clients addressed the owner with an immediate request to fire a young lady from their call center. The client claimed that the young lady was interrupting the conversation for no reason. He demanded the dismissal of the young lady at that very moment or he would… (and there followed a long series of threats).
However, the entrepreneur decided to find out more about what happened and so he listened to that specific call, which was automatically recorded. The situation went like this: a call arrived in the call center, the employee answered and spoke according to the predetermined scenario. The client thought the questions and sentences were a bit long and he raised his voice. The employee continued the discussion calmly, but the client went from a high tone to uncensored words. Here the discussion was interrupted. Why? Because the script demands it and so, the employee in the call center respected it.
The customer rings again, shouts again, the conversation stops.
How do you think - what should the entrepreneur have done in this case - sacrifice a responsible employee or an arrogant client?
Suppose you follow the „Customer is always right" principle. This customer could have made a purchase from the company, apparently you would have received income. All looks good, except for a "but".
You would have lost a good employee. You would have to look for another one and train him, which requires effort, time and money. In addition to all this, you made it clear to the entire staff that a rather arrogant client is more bossy than you and that he could make you fire a good specialist. Demotivation and loss of authority is what you really earned.
Entrepreneurs need to forget about the principle „The customer is always right". Ironically, this principle leads to worse customer service than usual.
Here's why:
1. Some customers do more harm than good, like the one in the example above. In addition to the financial aspect, pay attention to the respect and dignity of the good employees in your company. They are the ones who bring money to your business.
2. They make your team members unhappy. When your approval, as a leader, goes to a customer who is not right, your employee will have at least a feeling of resentment. Some of the most successful businesses around the world have gone from empathy to customers to empathy to employees. The new motto of these companies is „When we are dealing with problematic customers, our loyalty and empathy goes to the employees”. They are the ones who have to endure this kind of behavior on a daily basis. Just because a client bought something, it doesn't mean he has the right to abuse the employees.
3. A bad customer will abuse the „Customer is always right" principle at all times. The work of the employees thus becomes much more complicated, from the beginning. This way, abusive customers will enjoy more favorable behavior than nice customers.
4. Their messages imply hidden meanings such as:
• Employees do not deserve too much respect from customers
• Employees are not appreciated
• Giving employees the right behavior is not very important
• Employees have to swallow just about anything from customers
And last but not least, why the customer is not always right is because:
5. Sometimes he just is not right. Not at all. If you, as a leader, agree with an incorrect client, that would be about the biggest betrayal of your employee. This is a truth that deserves to be accepted and implemented.
The business world is very interesting. Every customer, every purchase is an extra experience and gives you and your business an added value. That is, if you know how to approach the situation correctly.
