‘No Longer a Customer’ Service

The customer isn’t always right

Is the customer really always right? We throw that comment around haphazardly without truly considering the ramifications of such an approach. I’d submit that they’re not. There are plenty of times the customer is wrong (and sometimes, very much so).

First, let’s explore the implications of a “customer is always right” approach. On the upside, they are right in that they perceive a problem. They believe they are not getting the service they deserve. Treating a customer with the utmost respect in this situation is absolutely good business. There’s nothing more infuriating than being blown off or not listened to as a customer. (For a good example, see this post on customer disservice.) Treating the customer with respect, whether the issue is resolved in their favor or not, will at least have them telling their friends they were treated appropriately. While they may not be exceedingly happy with the outcome, they won’t be out there bashing your company for both problems and bad service.

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Comments

They're not always right, and sometimes are just liars !

I don't intend to be rude, I don't want to bash in customers indiscriminately, but it reminds me that, back in the 1990's, I had to publish two sets of food safety indicators - one excluding a whole country ! At the time, I was the quality manager of a factory producing triangular, salted and flavoured fried corn tortillas (you'll guess the make), in France. The Netherlands accounted for around 8% of the sales, and reported "broken glass pieces in the pack", once or twice a week. France and Belgium (92% of the sales) never reported such defects. The odds that we were so bad regarding broken glass management (imagine : once a week !) *and* every single defect went into packs sold in one single location, are very close to zero. Being a quality manager, I was bothered by the fact that such critical defects had to be emphasized with the workers and that, at the same time, I could not do that, because of the obvious lies.