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.