Why The Customer Is Not Always Right

why the customer is not always right

The saying, “The Customer Is Always Right” was conceived and popularized in a time when businesses engaged with consumers in a high transactional manner. Companies operated with caveat emptor (buyer beware), allowing them to exercise advertising and business practices that otherwise be deceptive and even illegal by modern-day standards. Companies that adopted a customer-centric focus were able to differentiate themselves from their competitors by taking customer complaints seriously.

However, times have changed – consumers now have government legislation that protects them from deceptive business practices and businesses have faced increased competition, forcing them to compete on a multitude of factors. With that, customer behaviours have changed and not always for the better, begging the question of what if the customer is not always right?

Key Takeaways

  • Customers are not always right – businesses operate with numerous constraints which spur policies and practices that customers may not like. Upending these policies for the sake of one customer can ruin a smooth operation.
  • Take care of employees and they will take care of the business – focus on engaging employees to improve overall morale and performance.
  • Continue to evaluate whether or not service delivery is sufficient – is there an uptick in a certain kind of customer request that could become a business opportunity?

 

Why the customer is not always right

There are numerous, inter-related reasons as to why the customer is not always right. More importantly, giving customers the ultimate negotiating power can upend and destroy the value that an organization creates for its stakeholders. Reasons for why the customer is not always right include:

  • Resource Constraints – every business operates under resource constraints that dictate the types of products and services they can provide. Policies and procedures are one way to ensure that a business operates within its constraints so that it can continue thriving. Letting customers defy these policies and practices can dramatically impact operations and even run a business into ruin.
  • Customers are not experts – while customers are great for understanding what they want from a business, they are not the experts in the product or the organization. A series of interdependent decisions and factors were considered in order to produce and deliver the product and service the consumer buys; a customer request may not actually be feasible given all of these factors.
  • Diminished value of employees – tilting all negotiating power to the customer leaves employees with no authority or autonomy over their role. This can become incredibly demoralizing for frontline employees who shoulder most of the burden of a disgruntled customer. The lack of empowerment and authority can breed resentment and can lead to lower performance, toxic work culture, and high turnover.
  • Drives divide between management and employees – adopting a customer is always right policy requires enforcement of the policy by management. This reads as though employees cannot be trusted to resolve issues within the business constraints and signals that employees come last.
  • Customers that are no good for business – if it costs more to service a disgruntled customer than the revenue they generate then the business should cut its losses and drop the customer. The cost of the customer being right can extend beyond real dollars including loss of employees, serious disruption in optimized operations, and even irreversible damage to corporate culture.

 

Balancing employees with customers

As organizations have evolved, so have their relationships with their stakeholders. Where, in the past, shareholders and customers reigned supreme, the focus has now shifted to all stakeholders including employees. At the same time, organizations have become obsessed with understanding their customers. Methods that drive success, such as design thinking, are praised for their customer-centric focus. Striking a balance between employees and customers is key in delivering great customer service and driving company performance.

Many business leaders now focus on employee engagement as a way of driving high-quality customers. The belief is by taking care of employees, they will take care of the business. By focusing on their relationships with employees, managers can improve overall employee morale and promote a positive work environment, leading to higher performance in all areas of the business. Employees who are happy and engaged will act as ambassadors of the business and provide better service to customers. This ultimately produces happier customers who are more loyal and promote the business through word of mouth.

Companies can engage with employees by listening to feedback, including employees in the decision-making process, and empowering them with autonomy and authority over their jobs. Having employees take a participatory role in shaping how customer service is delivered will provide employees with ownership and accountability. It also builds trust between employees and leadership which allows for the overall business to work productively to organizational goals.

Delivering Customer Service

How to manage a bad customer

Organizations that want to strike the right balance between employees and customers and adopt a virtue where the customer is not always right will need to determine a process for handling abusive and irate customers. Some recommendations for managers and frontline staff for handling disgruntled and highly unreasonable customers:

  • Be polite but firm – as a manager, once a customer has been told no by frontline staff, stand by the answer. This demonstrates solidarity with employees and allows the team to continue working together towards company goals. It also sends a signal to the customer that their request is truly unachievable.
  • Be empathetic – evaluate whether or not the customer’s request is actually unreasonable by putting yourself in their shoes. If what a customer is asking for is ubiquitously available, then there is an opportunity for improving how the business delivers service.
  • Proactively managing customer expectations – complaints often come as a result of misunderstandings, especially when an organization is undergoing change. Communicate organizational changes to customers as clearly and as often as possible to avoid misunderstandings.

Analyzing Customer Requests

 

Recommended Resources:
 

Uncover your strengths and weaknesses with our complimentary assessment. Boost your effectiveness at work and with your team.

Free Resource Library: Access our extensive collection of valuable resources for instant support in your personal and professional growth.

Explore Our Course Library:

Enhance your leadership skills with our diverse selection of courses. Take your abilities to the next level and become a more effective leader and team player.

Testimonials

Our Clients Love the Professional Leadership Institute

Your team will, too! Check out some reviews from our students.
The PLI program was invaluable to our network.
The range of topics delivered, the open dialogue, experience, and examples that PLI brought to each session were outstanding and provided a path for our Franchisees and Managers to look at leadership, coaching, and connecting with their teams in a new light. Many have implemented these strategies in their bakeries and have seen immediate results.
Michelle C.
COBS Bread
Highly recommend to help your team move forward
We have locations around BC and Alberta, so getting people on the same page can be very difficult... Until now. Our entire management team and location managers take the same great courses and then meet monthly online with our coach to apply it to our situation. People are engaged, the courses are excellent, we love our coach, and we are all learning together!
Jason Fawcett
President, Kelson Group
The result has been a transformation of our culture. 
We decided to implement PLI's strategies across the country in over 150 locations and over 3500 employees.  The result has been a transformation of our culture.  People's lives have been positively impacted - professionally and personally.  Morale is high and sales and profits are up as a result.
Daryl Verbeek
Daryl Verbeek
We’ve learned how to fix ongoing personnel issues once and for all
The roadmap laid out set our business up to quintuple in sales.  We've learned how to fix ongoing personnel issues once and for all, attract top talent, and spend our time focused on results, not internal staffing problems.  I highly recommend PLI to you - it's worked for us!
John DeJong
Satisfied Client
I had no idea that running a business could be this fun!
In less than 18 months of working with Trevor, he has transformed my business from being average to exceptional, where mediocrity is not acceptable, where being great is standard.  Working with PLI has allowed me to realize my dream of not simply owning a job, but owning a business.
Justin Bontkes
Principal, Caliber Projects
Our culture has taken major steps forward this year
Our culture has taken major steps forward this year with Trevor’s help.  He is funny, relatable, and his tools are very very practical and have helped us focus and upgrade our teams throughout our retail network. Trevor recently spoke to an employee group, and one person remarked, “I could listen to Trevor all day.”   We would highly recommend Trevor.
Stan Pridham
Founder, KMS Tools
The results have been remarkable
At first, we resisted, “This just won’t work with a law firm.” But we persisted and the results have been remarkable: our client base and profits have steadily improved, and staff engagement and morale is the healthiest its ever been.
Doug Lester
Partner, RDM Lawyers
Helped our fast-growing business become what it is today
I've experienced PLI's approach first hand and it's been crucial to sustaining our growth.  I can't imagine a business that wouldn't benefit greatly from his help.
Brian Antenbring
Founder, TEEMA
Provided practical ways to make positive changes
Trevor was incredibly well-received by the entire organization. He was able to articulate people issues that many of our franchisees were experiencing and provided them with practical ways to make positive changes. We have implemented the Star Chart tool across the organization and see it as vital to building happy, effective teams.
Aaron Gillespie
President, COBS Bread
Scroll to Top

Start Learning Today

For Individuals

Unlock your potential and accelerate your career with sought-after management and leadership skills.

 

Transform Your Organization

For Teams

Book a consultation to discuss your challenges and discover how we can help you build a winning team.

 

Sign Up For Weekly Tips!

Get Weekly Coaching Tips Straight To Your Inbox Every Monday.