Is the customer always right?

[Margaret Pilgrim]

My husband was in business for 25 years, providing a unique range of products to highly specialized buyers. His clientele were international, as the reputation of his business spread. For many of those 25 years, he kept posted beside his desk an editorial, clipped from a trade journal, entitled "The Customer You Can't Afford". As the title suggests, the article proposed that at a certain point the demands of a customer fall outside the perimeter of the offerings of your business, and that custumer is best encouraged to trade elsewhere. Over time, my husband gave this encouragement to not a few clueless would-be customers who demanded or expected more of his time and emotional attention than was tenable. The irony is that these high-maintenance shoppers were baffled that they weren't considered valued clients, while those he considered friends never asked for special service but always received it.

[Steve Klc]

Margaret--thank you for that very tenable little gift. I suspect it might be linked to often around here.

[=Mark]

Is the customer always right? Yes, except when they're idiots...

[Ron Johnson]

The client is the enemy.

[Charles Smith]

I think this is very different when talking about B2B vs. B2C.

When selling to businesses, you typically have a much better ability to determine whether or not a customer is profitable and adjust your behavior accordingly. This is almost impossible when dealing with the "general public." Very few, if any, B2C establishments know the lifetime value of a customer when dealing with them-- A first time eater that sends back a perfectly cooked (to the chef) piece of meat and gets it back charred (they way they like it) with no attitude and in a reasonable amount of time might become a long-term, very valuable customer. When you have an established relationship with a business customer, you can evaluate the profit vs. hassle and decide accordingly.

Cheers,

Charles

[tommy]

the customer is always right. although they are sometimes self-centered selfish twits who are demanding on the business more than they are on themselves to be reasonble humans. they also take out their frustrations on businesses, as they might not be getting much satisfaction out of other aspects of their lives.

with that said, you have to do what you can, within reason, to help these folks. there comes a point, however, where one must be told to eff off and find somewhere else to shop. as long as the business that is saying this offers a quality product at a fair price, and as long as the other 99.9999 percent of the public understands this, everything will work out OK for everyone.

but what do i know.

[Steve Plotnicki]

Of course the customer is always right. But if the customer insists on conducting business outside of the parameters you have set for your own business, whether he is right or not doesn't matter. That is where the line is drawn because, one has to run their business as they see fit and according to some rules and principals. That is what I get from your husband's little motto. Service as long as you don't ruin my life and business in the process.

I will tell you a great story. A few weeks back I was at what is arguably the most famous farm stand in the Hamptons. My wife and I have been shopping there for nearly 20 years. While we were on the line to check out, a woman a few customers in front of us tried to pay with a credit card and they only take cash. When she finds this out she starts making a scene. The owner of the stand who happened to be chatting with us sees this and rushes over and says to the women that it's okay, she can take her purchases (which amounted to about $25) and come back another time and pay for them. The women was clearly embarassed but then calmed down a little, thanked them and left. They didn't even take her name down. The owner comes back to us and says that this year, for the first time in years, she has had a number of customers where the exact same thing happened and she couldn't figure out why it was happening but after it happened a few times she decided that it was a function of the economy getting a bit softer. "Some people just don't have the type of cash they used to have" she told us. She went onto say that if this person stiffs her for the $25, it will be no big deal. But if not, she has made a customer for life. Now not every businessperson would reach that conclusion, or would be as deft as this women was to both stop a scene that was going on in her establishment, and try and to build a long-term relationship at the same time. So where the line gets drawn ain't that easy. Because many a business owner would have sent that women packing based on the I can't afford to have you as a customer theory.

[Tonyfinch]

The biggest opponent of the customer is always right theory is Nico Ladenis, the British based 3 star chef who famously "handed back" his three stars a couple of years ago.

In his book "My Gastronomy" there is a whole chapter entitled "The Customer is Not Always Right" and throughout the book he berates customers for ignorance, arrogance and pomposityand parochialism.

On my only visit to Chez Nico,in the early 90s, when sun dried tomatoes were all the rage,there was a big notice up in the foyer saying "I never have,and I never will,use a sun dried tomato in my cuisine"

So there!

[spqr]

The biggest opponent of the customer is always right theory is Nico Ladenis, the British based 3 star chef who famously "handed back" his three stars a couple of years ago.

Did he hand back his stars because he realized and accepted the fact that he was (is?) an insufferable pompous twit?

[Tonyfinch]

Actually both he and Marco Pierre White handed back their stars claiming that the criteria required by Michelin for 3 stars was "no longer relevant to the needs of modern diners"

Of course this doesn't mean he wasn't an insufferable pompous twit but others might describe him as one who "doesn't suffer fools gladly".

[jaybee]

If pleasing a particular customer means losing self respect, or compromising the standards you've set for how you want to do business, then that customer is wrong, for you.

[britcook]

Did he hand back his stars because he realized and accepted the fact that he was (is?) an insufferable pompous twit?

Nico Ladenis is a very down to earth and honest man, and as far from pompous as you can get. He was, and is, a man with vision who wanted to help the willing diner to lift the restaurant food experience up a level or two. For those who were not willing to even attempt share his vision he was, quite rightly, brusque (or similar terms), but only if they were stupid enough to try and tell him how to run a restaurant before eating his food. For those who criticised afterwards he was politeness personified and he hoped he would learn from the experience.

For those who can take the inane, the boorish, the stupid, the conceited and the just plain troublemaking customers and deal with them in a placid and measured manner, I salute them. For normal human beings there comes a point where reason demands that you give them a sharp slap but professionalism (and the threat of litigation) means you merely ask them to get a) a life, b) therapy, c) outtahere.

[lizziee]

I wonder how many restaurants would refuse Joe Pytka as a client? He is known as a tyrannical customer. Pytka has made more than 25,000 commercials and earns between 30 and 35 million a year. It is nothing for him to spend over $10,000 at a meal (something which he does frequently). However, according to an article in Today's LA Times, he is demanding and unforgiving; one "misstep -- however slight -- might mean a tongue-lashing that could strip paint."

[Fat Guy]

The only way someone can mean it when saying "the customer is always right" is if it means something other than that the customer is always right. Because the reality is that a customer can be right, or a customer can be wrong. If a customer says one plus one equals three that is wrong. Now if by "the customer is always right" we mean to say a good businessperson will sometimes pretend a customer is right even when that customer is clearly wrong, fine. Or if we mean what Plotnicki means -- that "right" is defined situationally within the parameters of a business -- then that's fine too. But I don't think anybody really believes the customer is always right in the sense in which these words are normally understood.

[Jinmyo]

The only way someone can mean it when saying "the customer is always right" is if it means something other than that the customer is always right. Because the reality is that a customer can be right, or a customer can be wrong. If a customer says one plus one equals three that is wrong. Now if by "the customer is always right" we mean to say a good businessperson will sometimes pretend a customer is right even when that customer is clearly wrong, fine. Or if we mean what Plotnicki means -- that "right" is defined situationally within the parameters of a business -- then that's fine too. But I don't think anybody really believes the customer is always right in the sense in which these words are normally understood.

Right.

[jaybee]

However, according to an article in Today's LA Times, he is demanding and unforgiving; one "misstep -- however slight -- might mean a tongue-lashing that could strip paint."

I may be perverse, but I relish meeting someone like that. Remember Harry Callahan telling the punk "go ahead, make my day." It's very satisfying to reduce someone with that amount of fatuous ego and sadism to a substance resembling guacamole.

[Tonyfinch]

one "misstep -- however slight -- might mean a tongue-lashing that could strip paint."

I had a girlfriend like that once. Boy,those tongue lashes........sigh

[tommy]

She went onto say that if this person stiffs her for the $25, it will be no big deal. But if not, she has made a customer for life. Now not every businessperson would reach that conclusion, or would be as deft as this women was to both stop a scene that was going on in her establishment, and try and to build a long-term relationship at the same time. So where the line gets drawn ain't that easy. Because many a business owner would have sent that women packing based on the I can't afford to have you as a customer theory.

i know i know nothing, but what is your point?

would she have made a "customer for life"? is that a good thing?

oy. too many words plots, not enough substance.

xo

[Fat Guy]

I think the issue there is that you're talking about a farmstand in the Hamptons; that's a pretty atypical environment. I think there was a poster here who once said you can't prove something by citing the most extreme example. Not that I agree -- the most extreme example is an important part of testing a theory. But no matter, the point I'm trying to make is that I'd like to see that strategy implemented at the Associated Foods supermarket on Third Avenue in East Harlem, or even at Balducci's. This particular Hamptons retailer knows her market well and is clearly smart. She's made a calculation, and she's probably correct, that she will lose a certain amount of money to deadbeats, get a certain amount repaid because some people will behave, and on occasion hit the jackpot by creating a customer for life. Add up the values and it's a good business decision. Add up the values differently -- like not in the Hamptons -- and it's a bad business decision. Suddenly, the customer who was right becomes wrong. Is anybody actually willing to defend the literal proposition that the customer is always right, or can we all agree that it's a figure of speech meaning that a business should try very hard to satisfy its customers?

[Steve Plotnicki]

Well further to Fat Guy's point, when I moved into Manhattan from Queens the first thing I noticed is how all the local shops encourage people to open house accounts. That was pretty unusual in Queens other than from certain types of shops like the butcher. But the hardware store or the dry cleaner would never offer credit. And I think the stand in the Hamptons is more like a city retailer (after all much of the clientele comes from the city) then the type of greengrocer you would find in Queens. And Associated Foods in East Harlem is really no different then Queens where credit is unavailable.

Tommy - If you still don't understand it after FG's excellent explanation, as applied to Margaret's original contention that there are customers you can't afford to have, i.e., they aren't always right, what that really means is that customers aren't worth it if they aren't going to be a money making proposition. Or be a pain in the ass some other way. I brought up the Hamptons story because obviously it could have been handled either way. Let the woman owe you the $25 or tell her you will hold the groceries aside and have her go home and get the cash. The stand's owner made a judgement call that she would make more money by letting her owe the money. And the reason a greengrocer in Queens doesn't allow it is too high a percentage of people stiff him.

[tommy]

Tommy - If you still don't understand it after FG's excellent explanation,

i do understand it now. i read it 3 times, misreading it each time. you can only imagine that i immediately assumed that you came to one of your bizarro conclusions again. this time, however, you made sense.

dats good biznits.

[researchgal]

I agree with the contention that the customer is always right, within reason. But, of course, how the business owner/manager defines "within reason" is a key factor. Cultivating a culture of service within a business is the foundation for success, and helps define what is "within reason." In all businesses, perhaps restaurants in particular, repeat customers come to have certain expectations based on their past experiences with the business. It is when things deviate from these expectations that problems begin. But again, consistency comes into play. Any business, regardless of size, needs to have a plan for how they deal with service recovery. Typically when people complain about service, they are giving the business an opportunity to make it up to them--Kind of makes you wonder about all the problems you never hear about--those are the scarier ones because, once you've lost a customer, you've lost your opportunity to influence what they tell others. I think Steve's farmstand situation is an excellent example--not only did the owner satisfy the customer's need, she also make an impact on all the people who were waiting in line and witnessing her gracious, respectful manner--there's a reason why this farmstand is so famous and has been around for over 20 years.

[jaybee]

Tuesday night a female customer at Fine & Shapiro stole my straw hat, which was on the hat stand about 30 feet from where I was sitting. Now that's a customer I can't afford!

[tommy]

don't worry jaybee. i know where you can get another handsome hat just like it.

[jerobi]

It is nothing for him to spend over $10,000 at a meal (something which he does frequently). However, according to an article in Today's LA Times, he is demanding and unforgiving; one "misstep -- however slight -- might mean a tongue-lashing that could strip paint."

I don't own a restaurant, but I imagine that making 10 grand on one guy is a good thing. And hey, if someone wants to spend $10,000 on a single meal, then yeah...it better be right.

Many people claim to take the high road, saying they would chew this guy out. Once the cash is in their hands, I have my doubts.