How to Provide Great Customer Service, Part Four

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The customer is always right, until the customer is wrong. The customer is always right. This saying has been attributed to Marshall Field, J.C. Penny, and Harry Gordon Selfridge. No matter who said it, the idea is the same. Marshall Field is also quoted as saying, “Right or wrong, the customer is always right.” This too is true, up to a point. Whenever possible the customer should be treated as if they are, in fact, right. But there is a time when the customer is wrong.  Sometimes a customer makes such an outlandish demand that it is abusive. When a customer clearly abuses an employee, then the customer is clearly wrong. In that instance, management should step in. Remove the employee from the situation. Refund the customer whatever money has been paid, if any. Then, the manager should tell the customer: “I am sorry you have received bad service here. I hope you will be able to find a store that can better serve your needs.”

When a customer clearly is in the wrong, there are times when it is still appropriate to help the customer out. However, when a customer is clearly abusing the store, then the store does not need that customer. We have all seen the sit-coms where a person buys an expensive article of clothing, keeps the tags and the receipts and then returns it after wearing it to a big event. Clearly the store does not need this customer. They aren’t making anything off of this customer and it drives up the price that other customers have to pay to cover the overhead of damaged or soiled goods.