The Customer is Always Right...Or Are They?

     We all know the slogan "the customer is always right" (thanks Harry Gordon Selfridge), but is that actually the case? There is a fine line between satisfying your consumers and improving customer relations, and then allowing some customers to take advantage of your service. In many cases, if you make right of a wrong, then that will help improve your business's image and improve customer morale. However, if you're too lenient with your customers and give out free services and products like Oprah, then you only end up hurting yourself in the long run. Being a previous employee in the service industry, I saw many instances where orders were made wrong, or they weren't quite what the customer was expecting. In these situations it should be expected for the business to make things right and fix the problem with a smile. This makes the customer happy and will improve their chances of returning. On the other hand, I have also seen many instances where the customer was trying to take advantage of the business by bringing back a completely finished beverage or meal demanding another one free of charge. In situations like this, you have to be careful to not set precedent of giving away free products to correct a wrong that the business did not make. That can cause other future customers to try to take advantage of your willingness to wrong your mistakes (or lack thereof) and cause you to lose money in the future. It is important to be able to admit when you are wrong and hire employees who are willing to do the same, and then be able to fix that mistake, but it is also important to ensure that you aren't being taken advantage of.

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