“The customer is always right.” is an age-old adage that most businesses follow when confronted by problems with customers. This phrase was orginally stated by the founder of London’s Selfridge Department Store, Harry Gordon Selfridge in1909. This statement is usually made to convince customers that they can expect good service from a company and to emphasize to its employees that they should service their customers well. One however does not believe that this saying should be followed at all times for a business to prosper.
There are several reasons why one does not think that the customer is always right. Foremost among these reasons is the saying makes a company’s employees feel bad. A company cannot expect their employees to give good customer service if they know that just a single irate customer can cause them their jobs. This saying is a disincentive to employees because they will feel that their company does not give them importance. The employees will think that the company’s sole objective is to increase customer satisfaction even at their expense. Companies will be perceived as organizations whose only purpose is to increase sales through good rapport with customers, but in the process sacrificing the morale of their employees. There are a lot of unreasonable customers out there who have unwarranted demands and corporations must learn how to strike a balance between siding with the customer or its employees.
In a book by Hal Rosenbluth, the CEO of Rosenbluth International, a corporate travel agency, he stressed that the employees should be first before the customers. He argues that employees who are happy and satisfied at work are able to give better customer service because they care more about the customers. He further adds that these employees have more energy and are happy; thus, more fun to talk to and interact with and they become more motivated. Eventually, it will result in employees putting the customers first.
Another reason why one is not convinced that the customer is always right is because there are some customers who, according to Barry Altland, Assistant Vice President/Learning Consultant of Professional Development, “is rarely accurate in discerning his own needs or gaps”. An example of this is when a customer wants to buy a plug for an electric appliance. The client may insist on a particular type of plug but it may not be suitable or safe for the appliance. The sales person assisting the customer has every right to advise him on the appropriate plug that he must purchase. In this case, the customer is wrong and the sales person is right because he is more knowledgeable about the item that must be bought and his professional integrity is on line.
Blindly adhering to the saying that the customer is always right sometimes results in customers who take advantage of this adage. They become abusive and make unreasonable demands. Just because they contribute to the income stream of a company do not give them the right to disrespect and treat employees unfairly.
It has also been found out that highly-technological companies might not be very successful if it always take into consideration customer-oriented strategies because it does not encourage innovation.
There is a need for someone to look out for the best interests of a business and one cannot expect that from a customer, no matter how much they value the company. It really boils down to knowing the needs, preferences and interests of the firm’s customers because the better a company knows their clients, the more they will be able to serve them well (McKee, 2011). Hopefully, there will be less room for complaints from disgruntled customers.
Reference List
Boyd, F. J., 1997. The customer may be always right--but who is the customer?. Records Management Quarterly, 31(2), p. 38.
Daily, C., 1996. Is the customer always right?. Academy of Management Executive, 10(4), pp. 105-106.
Friedman, M., 1998. No one is always right, including the customer: Comments on "The Customer Is Not Always Right". Journal of Business Ethics, June, 17(8), pp. 883-884.
Kjerulf, A., 2006. Top 5 reasons why “The Customer Is Always Right” is wrong. [Online] Available at: http://positivesharing.com/2006/07/why-the-customer-is-always-right-results-in-bad-customer-service/[Accessed 22 September 2013].
McKee, S., 2011. The customer isn't always right. [Online] [Accessed 22 September 2013].
T+D, 2012. Do you agree with 'the customer/client is always right' philosophy?'. T+D, 66(4), p. 21.
