Do you really believe "the customer is always right"?

Question

What if they're just annoying morons?

Answer 1

anybody who says the customer is always right has obviously never worked in retail or the service sector

Answer 2

By virtue of the position of the customer, whichever scenario played out, the customer is always right:

You decide the customer is wrong, but the customer is actually right.
You act on it and risk losing the customer with the possibility that the customer will tell other customers. So that when you do actually make right a bad service in future, you are still perceived as not making it right. You forgo potential profit and loose repute.

You do not act on it; the customer is none the wiser and gets you that sale or goes away.


The customer is wrong and you assume they are wrong;

You act on a person who is likely to be increasing negative and going to throw his weight around. Time is money, you will probably waste time arguing with him as you would by giving him what he wants. An apology and thanks costs nothing. You can be thankful this person leaves your business sooner than if you argued with him. You just saved time by making time for another customer that may get you a sales commission, and avoid a scene such that other customers can get back to what they came to do in the first place, being attended to, buying what they want, and you, earning the sales.

Time savings, economic profit and good repute are therefore always in your interest and hence, the customer is a yard stick of performance where the old adage applies, regardless the moral standpoint or factual correctness of it all.

Answer 3

No, I don't agree that the customer is always right and I hate that "rule". If a customer is being very rude the staff should be allowed to deny them of service and ask them to leave.

Of course it's good up to some extent to treat the customers as if they are right, like when there is a minor problem, but in my opinion it should NOT be tolerated to have customers treating staff with extreme rudeness or let in to ridiculous demands, like when the customer flat out lies about the staff making a mistake and demands some compensation when there is no doubt that the customer is indeed wrong.

Answer 4

No, having worked for several years in retail, I can safely say that the typical customer is an idiot. They will want what you do not have, and then when you tell them you don't have it, they will want to buy the floor model at a significant discount. They will try to argue about the price of an item that was on sale in last week's paper, but not this week's. They will try to return items without identification or a receipt, and then complain when you refuse to accept the return. They shoplift from your store and when you catch them, they say, "Well since I had to return your stuff, I guess I'm not guilty of doing anything." They are rude, self-centered, and ungrateful.

Not all customers are this way. I've known a few nice people in my time, and I try to be a good customer when I shop. But the majority are asshats.

Answer 5

No the customer is not always right. I work in retail myself and deal with unreasonable people everyday. If the sales starts tomorrow, it starts tomorrow, not tonight! The coupon is expired! Just because you bought those copyrighted books, doesn't mean I can make copies for you, it's copy right infringment, moron. In the day of rudeness, the customer takes advantage of "the customer is always right" where as when a customer acts disrespectful and mean, they are not right. SO what if they take their business elsewhere, with their attitude and way of being , whoever gets their business is goingto be the loser. If works two ways and none of us in retail get paid enough to be abused. Most of work in it because we can't get alot of jobs with our high school educations and are there to make a living and we can't just change jobs that easy and we deserve the same respect that the person who sits on their butt all day gets.

Answer 6

No. The goal in customer service is to let them express themselves, diffuse the situation and then tell them what you can do to relieve their frustration. Always start with the things you can do. Try to understand their perspective. What if you were the customer and you didn't understand or like what was going on? What do you want to hear? It's not an easy job and it takes talent to get a customer who is wrong to accept your solution. Remember that people behave based on their past experiences. Treat them as decently as you can and you'll be helping out the next customer service rep they deal with.

Answer 7

I dont believe that the customer is always right, BUT if you are trying to make a good impression of the company you represent you should treat the customer with respect and try to resolve any issue with the customer being satisfyed with the final result.

Answer 8

Well now....

This in reply to you & one of the other morons that answered you too..............

The customer is rarely right but likes to throw their weight around by hiding behind the mornic management who have trained their staff to believe this statement.

I am the manager of a bust club and let me tell you none of my staff are trained under this illusion. - Further more I would argue that we have less complaints than other clubs & retail shops etc.

I have no objection to people that have a genuine reason to complain but as for the rest..... ....well lets just say they should be using any servises at all because they will only be upset when they don't get what they want. (They never get what they want, if they did they wouldn't have an excuse to complain!!)

Sorry about the babble, just these things annoy me - Alot!!

Answer 9

"The customer is always right" has very little to do with customer service. It has more to do with R&D and with marketing.

The customer always knows what s/he wants, so in order to get their business and money, you have to make sure your products satisfy those wants (R&D), and/or you have to change the customer's mind about what s/he wants (marketing).

The need for quality customer service stems more from the fact that you cannot declare a monopoly on all production of a particular consumer item, so with all things being technically equal between your product and a competitor's product, you have to give the customers other reasons to shop with you instead.

Answer 10

Well, I work with the public. The saying "The Customer is Always Right" may have been a good practice for sales (a looong time ago). I understand the need to provide good service for the customer. However, I have worked with some "doozies" and they are very ignorant. Notice, I used 'ignorant' instead of 'stupid.'

I have stories! :)

Answer 11

Of course not! But the idea is that a smart vendor acts AS IF the customer was always right, in order to provide good customer service and grow goodwill.