Is The Customer Always Right?

In an article that appeared in Progressive Grocer, columnist David Diamond vents about an unbelievable series of events that happened to him on a recent trip to the drug store. He is quick to point out that the actions he describes don’t necessarily define a corporate culture, but uses the isolated incident to make a point.

In short, Diamond spent 30 minutes running an errand that he had done many times before. But this time he left without the goods and was called a liar and a thief. The fact that this was not a good customer experience or good customer service is obvious. Instead, it serves as a cautionary tale.

The lookout, according to Diamond, is creating a corporate culture in which the rules are more important than the customer. Is the customer always right? They are, in fact, many times wrong. However, a corporate culture that puts policies, rules and computers ahead of people starts to operate under the assumption that the customer is always wrong.

Diamond says, “Successful retailers operate under a variety of different models, but all of them — regardless of how large they grow — demonstrate a fundamental respect for, and trust in, their customers.”

So there it is. The customer is not always right because they are always right. They are always right because right or wrong, they decide if you succeed or fail. Maintaining a trust and respect for your customer base when designing the consumer experience is a way to ensure that policy, computers and a small handful of misguided employees don’t get in the way.