4 Times The Customer Isn't Always Right

Great customer service is a key to a successful business, especially a small business that cannot compete with big box companies on price. Many people say that they are willing to compromise on price but not on their experience, however, the motto, The Customer is Always Right coined in the early 1900’s isn’t always the best policy. Putting your customers—especially the bad ones—above your employees breeds discontentment and will only cause issues later on. Many companies, such as SouthWest Airlines are adopting a new policy that favors their employee’s satisfaction over their customer’s when things go wrong and for good reason. Happy employees are better employees. Here are 4 examples where the customer is not always right.

1) It Makes Employees Unhappy
We are not talking about dissatisfaction on a small scale, such as a complaint about a product or service; we are talking about abusive customers who demand something for nothing. In these cases, continuing to service such a person is hard on employees’ morale. When your employee is unable to talk a customer down, the best thing for your business is to side with your employee or your policies. During conflicts with employees and unruly customers, its always best to place your trust in your employee, especially if they have a good track record in service and judgment calls. When you trust your employees to do the thing that is best for the business, it gives them a sense of ownership and pride, making them better at their jobs in the long run. Unhappy, disinterested employees are some of the fastest business killers because no one wants to go somewhere they don’t feel valued and employees won’t value customers if their experience with them is constantly negative. A business that puts their employees first will see that their employees put their customers first.

2) Some Customer Are Just Plain Wrong
Anyone who has worked in customer service knows that there is just no pleasing some people. Something didn’t go exactly according to plan and these wrong customers expect the world in return. When a customer is insisting on being abusive, its best to let them go. The business is better without them and their rude and offensive ways.

3) Some Customers Are Bad for Business
This can be because they are abusive and rude, or it can be because they are constantly trying to exploit the system. Some customers have found that they can look for even the tiniest mistake and try to get something from it. On a small scale, it isn’t all that harmful to a business. Like when a customer orders a soda and receives water, they shouldn’t get their whole meal for free; but some will ask and then let the issue escalate in hopes that their protests will get them what they want. Customers who always seem to go to the same restaurant and shop at the same stores despite the many problems they always seem to have are better dismissed.

4) It Gives the Bad Customer the Advantage
The squeaky wheel gets the grease is an old saying that sums it up perfectly. If an abusive customer gets more of their demands satisfied it leads to abusive people getting better treatment and conditions than nice people. It makes much more sense to be nice to the nice customers to keep them coming back.