Right or Wrong: Customers

[xDarc]

I fail to see how a jingoism from the 60's applies to today's average poorly educated, no-class, broke-ass consumer.

Only quoting to point out the phrases origins was closer to the 1860s than 1960s As for its relevance it is insanely relevant and I will explain below.

The phrase was first used in print in a 1908 article in the Kansas City Star.

It didn't have much relevance until the post-war period where consumers had A) money and B) pent up demand.

Back then it was the customer is always right. Today it's the right customer is always right.

The average consumer is not what they used to be. Wages are lower adjusted for inflation, costs of living are higher, disposable income isn't there in a lot of cases- so a lot of customers just aren't worth it. Today, it's all about treating the customers who have money to spend right- and letting everyone else be passed around like a two dollar whore; letting them go from bank to bank, store to store, knowing they'll be back.

I didn't make it that way, that's the way it is. What the customer needs to do about it, is stop being so stupid, ignorant, and falling back on things like I don't read this or that, or I don't look at my statements. Too bad, that's your responsibility and you deserve to get taken for a ride if you haven't learned after two plus decades of companies behaving this way. There is no excuse for it.

The only customers who still cling to this dusty bullshit is baby boomers, the most annoying whiny generation ever. You tell a 20 year old kid why his account is overdrawn and he just sits there and takes it because he knows, shit- i should have paid more attention to my finances. It's only gonna get worse from here.

 

[esperandote]

Customers are always right on their presence, behind their backs they are fucking morons.

 

[chadachada123]

The customer is more-often-than-not wrong. That said, I think that cashiers should have the right, at least once per month, to tell a customer where to shove it if they are absolutely completely wrong but won't realize it. That would have made my year as a cashier far less stressful.

I've got this long story that I don't feel like typing, but long-story-short, I was called "arrogant" for standing politely and listening to this lady yell at me for something that both wasn't my fault, wasn't even a problem, and was completely outside of my control, and then smiling in response to her bitchy attitude. I hope she gets fucked with a metal rake.

Funnily, I actually got praise from my supervisors for handling it as maturely as I did. Most cashiers would have said something snappy or would have gotten angry at her. Instead, I just smiled deeply and put myself in La-La land. Good times.

 

[manic_depressive13]

TLR: people above who say the customer is usually wrong or an arse are talking out of their behinds, companies should learn to respect their customers again. Oh and don't go with Virgin Media.

Forgive me for asking but have you ever worked in retail or customer service? Just because you were right in your example doesn't mean that the vast majority of customers aren't full of shit.

 

[Rikkano]

I'd say No. However the costumer should be treated with respect, but then again so should the store.

 

[MPerce]

This adage was never true. I always thought it was a joke, actually.
Customers are normal people: sometimes they're right, sometimes they're hilariously wrong. Sometimes they're nice, sometimes they're assholes.

I like to follow the saying: "the customer who is kind is treated kindly in return." Especially in the customer service department.

 

[Lunar Templar]

http://www.cracked.com/blog/5-idiotic-misconceptions-about-calling-customer-service/

no, they aren't always right, they just think they are. as for are we better off?
don't see how its hurt anything

 

[chadachada123]

The only customers who still cling to this dusty bullshit is baby boomers, the most annoying whiny generation ever. You tell a 20 year old kid why his account is overdrawn and he just sits there and takes it because he knows, shit- i should have paid more attention to my finances. It's only gonna get worse from here.

This. Exactly this. Granted, some teens are still retarded as hell, but they're far more understanding than older people.

I once overdrew my account, but the way my (now ex-)bank set up the charges made it so I had to pay $135 for seven (fucking) dollars in overages. When this was explained to me, I only asked one thing: "Was their ability to reorder charges like this in the contract that I signed?" "Yes." I merely nodded and asked if there was anything that I could do to lower the cost, which he then helped out with in the greatest way he could.

 

[Susurrus]

I wrote to Dell when my computer's motherboard died one month out of warranty.

They sent me a new one, and an engineer to fix it, gratis.

My letter explained why I was unhappy, what I wanted, and why, and they did it. I was impressed.

 

[Something Amyss]

I am amazed by how many people are taking this literally.

On the other hand, it's obsolete. Gone are the days where pissing off a customer might send them to your competitor. Look at the Mass Effect 3 outrages. It will probably break records. For all the fits people have, they keep going back to Wal-Mart, EA, Democrats or Republicans, Dell, Warner, Comcast, etc.

It doesn't hurt that a lot of times there's no real competition, but still. Customers have become total bottoms, and their attitude tends to be impotent blustering followed by "Thank you sire, may I have another?"

You get what you deserve. You stopped fighting for your rights as a consumer, now you have virtually none.

Good service only makes business sense if there is some negative outcome to bad service, like people not buying your product. As such, knowing that people will complain and then continue to buy, it's a bad business model to try and keep people happy. "The Customer is Always Right" as such, is the worst model you can offer as long as people don't change buying habits.

 

[Zen Toombs]

I feel that the following two Something Positive comics explain my position on Customers well:

Spoiler: Part 1

Spoiler: Part 2

 

[JMeganSnow]

The "customer is always right" thing comes from an age of small, local businesses that employed a dozen people, and if you shop at those kinds of small, niche businesses you will very often still get that kind of service. Why? Because they can't afford to drive customers away, and the person who can authorize weird stuff is 10' away and glad to have an excuse to stop assembling boxes or scrubbing tabletops.

When you have a BIG business that employs tens of THOUSANDS of people, you need procedures in order to operate. Deviating from procedure on behalf of one customer means you have to be prepared to do it for ALL customers, and that's a HUGE FRIGGIN EXPENSE, especially since many of these "customers" wanting things are *in fact* thieves trying to scam you. It is not worth it even if one or two people throw up their hands in disgust and swear they're NEVER SHOPPING HERE AGAIN. Keep in mind that the way big box stores stay in business is by cutting expenses down to the bone, so they can offer low prices and the convenience that comes with enormous shelf space and one-stop-shopping. You can still get great customer service, you just have to be prepared to pay a premium for it, the same way you pay a premium for all premium services.

The really smart businesses are ones that figure out processes that allow them to give the appearance of catering without the expense. The online model, in many cases, offers superior opportunities to do this. Heck, I even prefer to order food online rather than call the restaurant because it takes only a few clicks to establish that I want NO BUN and SAUCE ON THE SIDE and the computer doesn't forget to ask for the expiration date on my credit card. The server isn't trying to man a counter and take calls at the same time, either, so it's not being interrupted every 3 seconds.

The idea that "the customer is always right" needs to die, not because customers are morons, but because it is a context-less commandment that doesn't reflect the type of business you're running or the *source* of your profits. There's a big difference between running a premium service and running a low-cost, mass-market service.

 

[Suicidejim]

Actually, once upon a time, this used to be true. The law of customer infallibility was commonly accepted by scientists, and duly recognized by various retail chains. Then, of course, one gentleman decided to test this law by proclaiming "2+2=5," thus fracturing the universe in the resulting chaos. It was only due to the brave actions of another nearby consumer, who promptly tackled a passing shop assistant and declared "The customer is not always right," that the law of customer infallibility was thus erased and the stability of the universe ensured.

As a result, the customer can frequently make mistakes in this day and age, much to the relief of shop assistants and the laws of nature alike.

 

[gigastrike]

In my experience working in the service industry, the customer is almost always wrong. Businesses only pretend the customer is right so that they don't get offended and decide to shop somewhere else.

 

[Canadamus Prime]

http://www.cracked.com/blog/5-idiotic-misconceptions-about-calling-customer-service/

no, they aren't always right, they just think they are. as for are we better off?
don't see how its hurt anything

That article hit particularly close to home for me. Esp. #1. You want to take your business elsewhere? Music to my ears.
I also remember that sometimes customers would get so bad that we'd actually hope they'd ask for a supervisor just so we wouldn't have to deal with them anymore.
Take my word for it when it comes to calling customer service, it's not any more pleasant for the customer service rep than it is for you. Actually it's worse, because the service rep has to deal with 20+X you a day.

 

[srm79]

As a CSR you are the bane of my existence. And when you're a dick, I won't do everything in my power to help. Just an FYI.

As a CSR for many years, I think you're wrong. In my (pretty extensive) experience, usually customers are being dicks when we, the company, have fucked something up. Only a small minority of customers are assholes just for the sake of it.

No, you might not have caused the problem, but you signed up to be the representative (the clue is in the job title) of the company. It's your fucking job to deal with people who are pissed off with your employer. By extension, they are pissed at YOU. To a customer, you are inseparable from "The Company". Don't take it so personally if someone is being a cock. If you're too thin skinned to deal with angry customers, you're in the wrong job. Fact.

Whether a customer is being a dick or not, we should do everything in our power to help them when the company has screwed up. Which probably accounts for 99% of customer contacts. Let's face it, nobody ever calls up their bank or electricity company to tell them what a great job they're doing.

Besides, you know that by making your stand, you're only going to end up gifting the customer more free shit or money or whatever when they complain at a higher level and the company (who will NEVER back YOU up) decides to make a "goodwill" gesture, right?

 

[him over there]

The customer is always right has nothing to do with their intelligence or ability or what have you. It is a prompt for employees to not redirect them using their judgement or superior knowledge in order to sell more things.

Here's an example: Say I want to buy an iPad, an overpriced piece of crap that costs like $600. The customer is always right mantra exists so that employees don't go "That thing is a piece of crap let me get you a better and cheaper tablet.

Or here's another. Say I want to get a digital cable box for a tv it isn't compatible with. The employee, keeping that I'm always right in mind will sell it to me rather than inform me about how I am wasting my money in order to make a sale.

Other than that of course it's wrong, it was never right and people are stupid.

 

[spartan231490]

That axiom has only ever been true for small business. For small business, it still is true.

 

[nepheleim]

I'll be the first to admit that my "customers" aren't quite what you'd find in the retail industry, but in my own experience the customer is wrong 99.99999 ad infinum percent of the time. There seems to also be a correlation between how wrong they are and how confident they are in thinking they can do my job better than myself too... how strange...