The Customer Is Always Right. Right?

But sometimes you need to guide them to a solution

Wed, 05/25/2011 - 09:55

The customer is always right. Everything we are taught about customer satisfaction is intended to keep us focused on this one principle, and we need to keep this in mind whenever we deal with the customer. Everybody’s business revolves around a customer base, whether we are a service company or a manufacturer.

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In the U.S. marketplace we continue to move toward a service-sector base and away from manufacturing. Because of this change, one would think it would be even more important that our first priority would be to make the customer happy. This isn’t a new idea. Harry G. Selfridge of the department store Selfridges in London, England, coined the phrase, “The customer is always right” in the early 1900s. Most companies believe and promote this thinking; keeping employees focused on the fact that unsatisfied customers do not come back and may even discourage others from becoming customers.

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Comments

Submitted by nathan7727 on Thu, 05/26/2011 - 11:59

I read through your article, almost wanting to kick my own self the whole time. I kept asking myself, "Where on earth is this coming from?"  The customer is always right?  I've been a customer, like everyone else, and I haven't always been right!

Then I re-read the article and came back to where the whole thing went wrong.  It happened at this statement you made: "I am talking about customers who are being fair about what they expect".  Well, that just about rules out any of the customers where you have any difficulty at all helping the customer get what they want.

Most companies and people don't have an issue helping a customer get what they want / need when the customer is "being fair" with their expectations.  We don't need any help or insight into doing that...it's easy and almost comes natural to most people.

And no...it is not the company's responsibility to identify every possible need or desire that the customer might possibly have about what you are providing them.  At some point there is a reasonable expectation on BOTH parties to communicate or solicit what the expectations are.  That really falls into that idea of "being fair" in what the customer expects again.  If I go buy a $200 softball bat does the sporting goods store employee have to somehow figure out that I think buying this bat will cause me to start hitting a homerun every time I go to the plate?  And if I use it for 10 games and decide I am unhappy because I'm not lighting it up on the field, do I get to bring it back, berate the store employee, make a scene in the store, and get my money back?

Again...it's a mighty big "IF" that you have proposed at the beginning of this article that really rules out what the common company needs the most help with.

The challenge is dealing with the customers where it is actually 'difficult'.  Their expectations are not reasonable; their attitude would make a skunk blush; and they are often demeaning and degrading in their commentary to your associates.  Now, dealing with those customers...that's an article I would like to read.

Nathan,

 

For every customer there is the possibility of a different scenario.  On one end of the spectrum, the one we really like, the customer comes in knowing exactly what they want, gets it, and are completely satisfied. Somewhere close to the other end the customer has no idea what they want or need and rely on us to help out.   At the worst end the customer is not at all on the same wavelength as our products and services yet wants us to fill their needs.  In every case IT IS our responsibility to make sure we know what they want BEFORE we commit to providing any solution.  See ISO-9001-2008 paragraph 7.2. 

 

And so You don’t always know what you want?  That’s OK because I’m here to help.  Any good customer service person will tell you that.  But, if you think you know what you want and I don’t have it there’s still an expectation of help.  When I get on a plane, I want peanuts.  Do you think I’ll get them?  The whole point here is that you don’t put your employees first, you put the customer first and your well trained employees will work real hard on providing satisfaction.

 

I think your baseball bat picture is a little far out.  I don’t think that very many people would spend $200 on a bat until they know that it is going to provide the kind of benefit you are suggesting.  But, being the good businessman that I am, if the bat didn’t help you do your thing I would refund your money.  I might also suggest where you could get some coaching before you shell out another $200.

 

Dealing with the stinker is a real challenge and worthy of another article in the future.  What kind of training might help with that unreasonable customer?   Not the kind that says dismiss them

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