There are many times when we hear the expression that the customer is always right. This seems to be a motto in many businesses, but it isn’t quite as accurate as you think it would be.
There are going to be times when the customer is not right and just because they are the customer does not give them the right to walk over anyone who is employed at that place of business. In fact, there are some establishments that will never stand for it.
Such is the case in the following story. We can’t prove that it is true but we love the premise behind it. It shows us that there are some bosses out there who are willing to stick up for their employees when times call for it.
(My boss is wonderful. He directs his staff to use one word responses when a customer gets unreasonable, and to hit the ‘panic’ button — a monitor that pipes the conversation through to him. Conversations like this still happen, but at least it’s all handled.)
Customer: “This is ridiculous! I had to wait in line for 15 minutes! Why couldn’t you serve me earlier?”
Me: *hit the button* “Sorry, sir. There were other people in front of you. How can I help you?”
Customer: “Give me a [Product], and I want a 20% discount!”
Me: “Sorry, sir, I can’t do that, and there is no reason to; this is normal business. Waiting in line is an everyday matter.”
Customer: “Yes, you can. Give it to me or I’ll have your job! You worthless minimum wage trash.”
Me: *going into DefCon mode* “Can’t.”
(This is where my boss’s one-word strategy works so well. Irate customers can easily ignore a sentence, but it’s hard to mis-hear a single word.)
Customer: “Can’t? Of course you can! What do you mean, can’t?”
Me: “Can’t”
Customer: “Why not?”
Me: “Orders”
Customer: “Whose orders?”
Me: “Boss:”
Customer: “Well, get me your boss then!”
Me: “Okay.” (My boss comes out.)
Customer: “This employee was being extremely rude to me! I demand my purchase for free, or at least with a big discount!”
Boss: “No.”
Customer: “No? What do you mean, no? She was being rude!”
Boss: “Not rude.” *okay, sometimes you have to use two words*
Customer: “Yes, she was!”
Boss: *points to monitor* “Monitor.”
Customer: “What?”
Boss: “Heard you.”
Customer: “So?”
Boss: “Not rude. No discount.”
Customer: “The customer is always right! Why not?”
(Once we get to this point, my boss has a standard spiel.)
Boss: “Five good reasons.”
Customer: “Huh?”
Boss: “Five good reasons why you’re not getting a discount.”
Customer: “What? What are they?”
Boss: “One: I don’t have to. Two: I don’t want to. Three: There’s no reason I should. Four: You can’t make me. Five: I’m not going to.”
Customer: “I’m never coming here again!”
Boss: “You should have said that before. If you’d have said that if I gave you a discount, you would promise to never come back, I might have given it to you.”
(The customer left. Case closed.)
