The Customer is Always...

I know what you're thinking. It's been ingrained in all of us forever. The old adage that, if you want to have good customer service, you have to believe that "The customer is always right."

But here's the thing. The customer ISN'T always right. In fact, quite honestly, some times the customer isn't even in the ballpark of right. The only thing the customer always is is, well, the customer.

Have I mentioned that I grew up in customer service in my parents' small-town drug store? This is the kind of small town where customer service means driving a delivery to someone's house on your way home - even if it's not even remotely on your way. Where you get phonecalls at 6am on Christmas morning asking you to open the store so a frantic caller can buy batteries... or film... and then actually doing it.

It is, however, also the kind of town where - if the customer is way off base - the store owner (or clerk) has the right to tell him so. In fact, it's more than a right. It's kind of an educational duty. Think of it as a really polite version of a New Yorker telling you that you're out of your ever-loving mind if you say that LA is more culturally-grounded than NYC. Direct, firm, maybe ever-so-slightly apologetic, but unswervingly committed.

This week at work one of my co-workers was lectured on the phone because, while answering the caller's questions about our services, the caller felt that she wasn't providing clear enough answers. When she pointed out that he was mis-interpreting the webpage he was reading, he went into the "Don't you know that the customer is always right?" speech. At which point, she had to explain that - while she appreciated his argument, he was - in fact - not right. You can imagine where the conversation went from there.

I've been poking a lot of fun at the manuscript I've been reading, lately. (And, okay, it's given me a LOT of reason to do so.) But one thing the author made mention of is that a lot of Americans, today, feel entitled to get everything they want when they want it and how they want it. Working in customer service I've noticed this become more and more prevalent over time. And that, to me, is a trend that needs some re-thinking.

Although, I'm not sure what bothers me more: the shift in that social dynamic, or the fact that the author actually did make one good point.