“60% of the Time it Works Every Time” — the Customer Isn’t Always Right
The quote in the article title is a humorous quote from a classic comedy, “Anchor Man”. The line is sometimes sorta, kinda true. Interacting with business owners in retail and restaurants often make the generic claim, “the customer is always right”. The sentiment goes back one hundred years, a London proprietor, Harry Gordon Selfridge is credited with the popular retail slogan. The phrase is a catchy motto for a business owner to publish. It is a clever marketing sound bite. The nature of the phrase is less practical. When making a statement it can put employees in a difficult position. On one hand, it is good for the customer, it gives a sense of comfort when a dispute occurs. Using a restaurant as an example, the patron asks for a refund because the meal didn’t taste the same as usual, yet he ate everything on the plate. Is the customer right in this scenario to request a refund? There are reasons to deny a request depending on circumstances. A situation where a service is provided (like preparing and serving a dish), is the responsibility of the staff. If the patron makes a claim the product is inferior yet, uses or consumes, it isn’t reasonable to adhere to a “customer is always right” policy.
An employee is often put into an uncomfortable position when a customer makes an unreasonable claim and points out the “I’m right” slogan presented. A proactive approach is to train staff to be equipped with how to respond and to explain why a request is being denied. It isn’t too common for a customer to be insistent to have it his way. When it does happen, it makes for a poor impression on the buyer and in some cases the employee confronted with the situation, depending on how the claim is received and reconciled.
As a youth, my step-mother regularly told us, “if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all”. Her phrase is a reminder, if 60% of the time your policy is enforced, and the rest of the time a customer is told “no”, it sets a difficult standard for employees and mid-level managers to handle. The phrase was her way of saying, think about the response before blurting out an emotion-based reply. The best and worst of a business owner is displayed when she hears both versions of the story, from the customer and from the employee. If the employees’ version of the events were similar to the customer and doesn’t behave like a dramatic actor performing Shakespeare, it’s beneficial to support the employee. When a manager either doesn’t or won’t take the time to hear both versions of the story and sides with the customer, it sends a confusing message to the staff, it is the worst side of a manager, not being supportive of an employee, within reason. In the customer’s mind, denial of a request without a sensible reason also sends a message the business does not live up to its claims.
A business owner explains, “I just say it because it is good for business”. It can be if the slogan is enforced with consideration and a reasonable explanation is given. If a customer eats a full meal and asks for a refund, is told no and causes a ruckus, it’s natural to assume either the person is just having a really bad day or is a difficult personality.
As a risk manager, we aren’t in the business to dictate to a client how to market their service, we share insight to the impact of making certain proclamations. When a general statement is made, such as “the customer is always right” or “refunds, no questions asked” is setting your staff up for the occasional difficult situation. Although it may be infrequent and the upside appears to outweigh the chance encounters it is still a situation that may bloom (in a not so good way) into a much more-costly scenario.
Consider, the customer may behave badly, cause a disturbance in front of other patrons. The other patrons, especially those first-time visitors may think you attract unsavory types. The same agitated customer may be an influential person in the community and spread their version of a bad experience to a wide audience. The employee may not take the experience well either. Losing an employee because a slogan caused a confrontation could lead to a number of distressing circumstances:
The employee quits — the cost of hiring and training a new employee is going to be far more expensive.
The employee reacts — the employee allows their negative experience to agitate other staff members, potentially causing a rift between employees or employees to management.
The employee takes — the employee may see the experience as an injustice and choose, wrongly to steal from the business as compensation.
The employee is well-connected/respected — employees although an underling may have sway in the community. They can just as effectively (as a jilted customer) give the business a bad image.
Retail is not the only business using the “customer is always right” phrase. We see it in service businesses as well. An alternative slogan to publish to the general public is “We appreciate your business” or “Your satisfaction is our goal”. In either statement, no guarantee is put forward. Both phrases simply state an expectation for customers.
The lessons learned from the various negative outcomes we have encountered over the years as risk managers/observers, as customers, and service employees in prior work experience teach us making a “customer is always right” policy, silent (un-published) and conditional makes it easier to diffuse an unwelcome disturbance. The risk management tactic is referred to as “avoidance”. By eliminating the slogan, it takes away the customer’s instance on enforcing a half-baked policy.
Originally published at clarastellabc.com on December 13, 2018.
