A customer support center.[Photo/Kendesk]
The phrase “The customer is always right” has been there for ages but is it time to abandon this wisdom?
Have you ever come across a customer who was so rude and complained about everything? Should your small and medium enterprise (SME) consider this customer asking?
More and more businesses are abandoning this maxim, more so because it does the opposite of what it is intended for, it leads to bad customer service. Here are reasons “the customer is always right” is wrong.
It makes employees unhappy
When you bump into customers you cannot possibly sit back, your loyalty should be to your employees. Just because a customer brings business does not give them the right to insult your employees.
If you fail to support them during such circumstances, you risk them developing resentment. Of course, we cannot ignore the fact that there are nasty employees who give lousy customer service, but declaring that customer is always king is counter-productive.
It gives abrasive customers an unfair advantage
By declaring the customer is always right, abusive ones can take advantage. This makes employees work even harder while trying to rein them in. It also means the customer gets better service compared to the nice people. You need to be even nicer to nice customers to make them come back.
Some customers are actually bad for business
‘The more the customers the better’ is a maxim that most businesses have bought into. But some customers are bad for business. It is ok to cut ties with bad customers. Cancel contracts even. It is not about the amount of money you will lose when that customer leaves, it is about your employees receiving dignified treatment.