'The customer is always right'. Do you agree?

Question

I believe in giving good customer service, even though I know it's part of the job that some customers seem to think this is an excuse to be rude and expect to be ars*e-licked. In most customer service jobs your are supposed to put up with this attitude but I am so glad to be working for a place where our mangaer doesn't expect us to put up with any crap, even if it means losing a customer.
It would be great to know your views on the statement given in the question.

Answer 1

I always tried to be polite and reasonable. But I have thrown customers out on their ear and told them never to come back.

If you are not the supervisor, you may be told to put up with more than you should. But for the good of society, rude and piggish people need to be dealt with harshly, even if it looses a sale.

Answer 2

I agree with you 100%. I worked in a call center for two years, and it drove me bonkers. Some customers will try and get over on you as if you haven't dealt with the same BS and then try and tell you,"well the customer is always right". No, they are not and the companies know that as well.

Those angry, mean, rude, customers who take out their crap on other people because they had a bad day and did not pay attention to their invoices should be banned from talking to customer services. I had people yelling at me on their phone after saying, "Good "time of day" I am "name" at "company" How may I assist you? " and they were yelling at me about a completely different company. I worked at an electric company and someone was yelling at me about their phone bill. Then when I advised them I could not assist them with it and they should call the phone company, they called me an idiotic B*tch, then said why should they do that, aren't we all the same. I got kudos for that call because I wasn't rude, did not lose my temper and kept a great tone, but I didn't get a raise for it. I left that job after too many of those calls.

I wish I had managers that backed us up more.

I thank the great customers out there. You definitely helped me make it through the day.

Answer 3

Well, I don't think the customer is always right. A lot of times they are down right rude and demand things that they aren't entitled to. On the other hand I have been places where customer service doesn't want to help you out unless you jump through ninety million random rules. I don't think that is right either. If a business has truly sold a defective product or delivered poor service they should be willing to make it right so long as they customer isn't being ridiculous.

Answer 4

As in the case of the example you give, the customer is clearly not always right - the customer is your equal and each (them and you) is entitled to courtesy, regardless of a cash nexus - a fee does not buy a right to be rude or abusive. It buys the product or service.

But there is a logical flaw to the premiss: 'The customer is always right'. Consider the example:

A kitchen company, say, sells a fitted kitchen to a customer and they engage a sub-contractor to install it.

The owner of the kitchen is the customer of the company, and the company is the customer of the sub-contractor therefore.

The owner of the kitchen turns out to have a complaint to the company with regard to an aspect of the execution of the contract. Yet the company is agreed that the sub-contractor has carried out the installation to their satisfaction and that the product is "as sold", ie: it is the same product that was shown in the showroom etc. (so-called WYSIWYG).

How can both 'customers' be 'right' when there is a dispute over the same issue?

Clearly one of them must be wrong. And therefore, in some respects at least, so too must be the statement: 'the customer is always right'.

q.e.d!

(So, no! I disagree.)

Answer 5

In many cases, giving a customer extra service, even giving them treatment that they really don't deserve, according to normal business practices, will ensure the business a repeat customer and very good word of mouth for a long time to come. So usually it's in the business' best interest to treat all customers well and even sometimes give the customers special treatment that they normally wouldn't get. The manager is paid to deal with difficult situations so if you encounter any situation that you feel needs special treatment (in whatever form) you can always ask the manager to come help that customer.

Answer 6

Not all customers are right. But I do think no matter what the customer is like, or how much cr4p they are giving you, you should always stay calm. You should just just try to explain to the customer politely. At the end of the day your better for the polite one, also you just never know what that customer is capable of really. You don't really want to have a go at someone who you think would do no harm, but then they turn round and hit you.
At the end of the day, it should be about your safety, not whether you lose a customer or not.

Answer 7

hmmm.......in today's world I have noticed the people working in the service industry have started to get pretty rude. They don't say "thank you" or "have a nice day." I actually say these things to them even if they don't. Just the other day I was clarifying my order when the woman cut my sentense off to let me know she had "gotten everything." Guess what? She didn't. I went home and she made a mistake (2 days in a row might I add). But if you as a person in the service industry are being treated rudely - I don't think you have to take it - I just think there is a right way of telling the customer that. If you don't yell and call names - I think your manager should back you up.

Answer 8

I don't live by the motto of "the customer is always right," but rather by the motto "the customer is never wrong." There are, indeed, many times when the customer simply isn't right. The challenge is to find a way to please the customer, regardless, without making it the "customer's fault." Anyone dealing with customer service is going to have some extremely difficult customers - all we can do is face them with grace.

Answer 9

No the customer is not always right. The customer should expect to be treated right (not by some stroppy member of staff) but at the same time so should the member of staff - it's a two way thing. It boils down to respect - and there's not enough respect in the world these days.

Answer 10

Not anymore, customers have to much attitude and think service workers are servants or something, I used to work in a cooffee shop at the mall of america and most ppl were nice but we had a few regulars that were so rude! And those are the ones who never tip either!

Answer 11

I don't agree...... I've also worked in CS and it can SUCK sometimes because yeah, people come up with lines such as " **I ** pay your wage and you should do whatever it takes to do what I want/demand/deserve"........... come on!!!! When their demands are unreasonable, they just need to be brought back to reality and understand that they're NOT going to get what they want only cuz they think they automatically deserve it "for being the customer". I've also put with crap but back then my supervisors were also very tolerant and told us we were not supposed to take crap from anyone, so if a customer got really rude we had all the right to hang up on them (it was a call center) or transfer the call to a supervisor. I was on the line first and then a supervisor, and even as a supervisor I would sometimes refuse to please the customers, which also got me the "CAN I SPEAK TO *YOUR* supervisor!!!?????".......... whatever. I was firm and did not give in to their demands just because...... if they were reasonable, fine. If not, I'd kick them to the curb -- politely of course, but firmly and not taking sh*t from them.