The Customer is always right! Indeed, this very basic premise has been ingrained in our thinking – from graduate school to all levels of business management. Clearly, forward-thinking, growth minded businesses build this facet into all areas of the enterprise – the company mission, values, training and development programs – all are designed to foster an environment whereby “the customer” is viewed as its most critical asset.
The phrase “The customer is always right” was originally coined by Harry Gordon Selfridge, the founder of Selfridge’s department store in London in 1909, and is frequently used by businesses to:
- Convince customers that they will get good service at this company
- Convince employees to give customers good service
While most would publicly agree that the customer is always right, is this truly embraced and supported by all employee levels to the extent that it drives customer-focused behaviors and actions? Are there instances where, dare I say, the customer might be wrong?
A 2011 Bloomberg BusinessWeek survey revealed that “delivering a great customer experience” has become the new imperative for all or most major Fortune 500 companies and small businesses alike: In fact, 80% of companies polled rated customer experience as a top strategic objective.
Interestingly, according to the same survey only 20% of these companies believe that they, themselves, are actually doing a good job. Fascinating gap between company stated primary objectives against perceived organizational performance towards such goals.
Clearly, no business can exist without customers. Every organization must define itself. It must understand its strengths and weaknesses in order to articulate its value proposition.
Successful companies understand this – they consistently work towards delivering excellence in everything they do. They understand that delivering excellence, or a positive customer experience, begins with the creation of a customer-focused culture.
“There is only one boss – the customer. And he can fire everybody in the company from the chairman on down, simply by spending his money somewhere else.” – Sam Walton (Walmart).
Sam Walton didn’t invent retailing, just like Henry Ford didn’t invent the automobile. But just as Ford’s assembly line revolutionized American industry, Walton’s dogged pursuit of discounting revolutionized America’s service economy. Walton didn’t merely alter the way America shopped-he changed the philosophy of the American retail business establishment, instigating the shift of power from manufacturer to consumer that has become prevalent in industry after industry.
That’s why every company needs to figure out how to win and – maybe even more importantly – keep customers in order to survive within highly competitive and often volatile markets.
Now, clearly there are instances when the customer may be wrong, either in how they may voice their concerns, or perhaps an inaccurate view of how, or what, services were to be delivered. This is undeniable.
Yet, it seems reasonable to conclude that delivering a positive customer experience is critical to the health and viability of a company. Customer-focused companies embrace all opportunity feedback – they understand that sustained success often solely comes to those rare organizations who subscribe to the belief that in business, continued success, execution and improved performance often boils down to the survival of the fittest.
“Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning.” – Bill Gates
So what can successful companies do to foster a work environment that drives improved service performance while creating a positive customer experience? How can such companies position themselves through delivering excellence in all areas of their business in a manner that differentiates their business while improving their competitive position?
- Successful companies understand that “good is the enemy of great“. Good provides no guarantees, while GREAT … well, companies who deliver “great” everything they do tend to enjoy explosive and equally sustainable growth, work-life balance for their employees, and achieve high levels of customer satisfaction and retention. Commit to being GREAT!
- Implement an effective Customer Relationship Management (CRM) strategy, or how it is often now phrased, Customer Experience Management (CEM).
- If you aren’t utilizing a viable Quality Management system (TQM, Six Sigma, etc) – stop it! Either explore full implementation, a hybrid deployment, or simply extract the basic principles, processes & procedures of an established Quality Program that will allow your company to deliver best-in-class performance.
- Embrace Customer Feedback as an Opportunity to Improve.
- Utilize a Balanced Scorecard approach in measuring performance against target through scalable Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s). Measure
- Once Scorecard data is gathered, do something with it! Allow scorecard metrics to drive internal and customer-focused decision making. Manage
- Commit your organization to the review of performance data, trends and root cause analysis as part of your focus on continuous improvement. Improve.
- Consider implementing an effective technology solution – the right tool will enable you to more effectively manage your business and desired performance outcomes in real-time.
- Emphasize for Four Principles of Customer Experience: Responsiveness. Reliability. Relevance. Convenience.
- Create a “culture of excellence” within your organization that reflects its core values in everything it does, from how it operates to its employee focus.
- Finally, embrace the reality that, in fact, “the Customer is ALWAYS Right”. In doing so, you’ll free your company or department to begin the process of realizing its full potential as a customer-focused organization.
Ultimately, whatever path you choose needs to align with where you may be as an organization. However, recognize that speed counts and lack of speed kills! If you aren’t moving forward as an organization, you’re likely standing still … why not be the company that recognizes its opportunity to improve! Take action and commit to improving your business and overall customer satisfaction – your current clients may be glad you did!
March 18, 2012 at 11:35 am
Who would argue with the iconic,”the customer is always right”? Allow me,with due modesty, to do just that. Albeit I am hypothesizing an example probably not contemplated by John Garret or Sam Walton.
I believe in listening very carefully to the client describe to me his needs and how he expects me to help satisfy these needs. Further, I recognize that my client has a big picture understanding of the reasons for, and the implications of, the conclusion to a degree that I do not. He (or she)may choose to not share the bigger picture with me.
Listening to my client and respecting his application of the data he has utilized
does not require that I think he is correct.
An example. I am an experienced Real Estate service provider representing or providing consultative insight to large, resource heavy Corporate Real Estate departments.
Among the myriad of services I may be asked to provide is to use my local knowledge to suggest appropriate locations for an office facility. My client’s staff has utilized his in-house resources to study and compare demographics, munipal incentives, operational and tax costs, accessibility to clients, aiport, ,etc.
My client knows where he should locate. ” City A”, ” Suburb B ,C or D”, Market D, E, F or G” He has missed one or more logical alternatives that do not fit within his criteria. Because I do not know the big picture there may be a valid reason. Or his data may have misled him.
How many times will we be asked, ” one of your competitors called me to submit a property that seems perfect. Why didn’t you tell me about it?”
This time my client is right. At the onset of the process I should have listened. But I should not believed the client is always right.
Robert D. Rosman
March 20, 2012 at 10:21 am
Robert: very good feedback & much appreciated. You have certainly captured one of several primary objectives of the article. Clearly, the client may be incorrect for any number of reasons – our reality is to respond professionally and articulate, with sound facts and data points, another way for the client to solution the problem/explore alternative ways of thinking. There has been much discussion re: this article, which I was/am very glad to see, and hope the dialog continues to everyone’s benefit, including my own
John Garrett
March 24, 2012 at 9:03 am
However much I believe this to be one of the best articles I have ever read on the subject – Southwest Airline’s founder Herb Kelleher had a different take on the subject. Supposedly Kelleher didn’t always believe the customer was always right. Instead he put his focus on creating a work environment that not only empowered his employees into performing their jobs with a “servants heart” attitude, he made damn sure his employees always knew Southwest had their back. Southwest Airlines has proved that happily engaged employees are able to do a better job when they know they’re doing so from solid footing.
March 28, 2012 at 10:25 pm
I always felt the Customer is right and still do, however I also believe that in my Posistion as a Facility Director it was my duty to discuss options and ideas with a customer. I also would talk to them about saftey issues and if they had ideas that could be wrong try and talk to them about the alternatives. In the case of Fire Saftey I would always discuss what I was trained to do and be sure they knew the lawas and any implications if some items were not followed. I would never allow them to insist on doing something they thought was right such as covering exit signs to keep a space in a design that they felt was better looking. In the case of Fire Saftey or General Saftey I might not always consider them right ,however I would explain to the best of my abilities the reasons. I guess it would be similar to an Airline. If Seatbelt signs are on and someone wants to get up and walk around you would not allow it so I guess there are some exceptions but they have to be discussed and handled Professionally
March 29, 2012 at 8:30 am
Vincent: very good feedback & I agree! The title of the article was not to be taken literally by readers (and surely you didn’t take as such), rather, to drive a dialog and increased awareness by companies of all sizes, within all market segments, to emphasize the significance of fostering a “customer-focused” culture within the workplace, supported by practical strategies to facilitate the implementation/development/improvement of said program. In my view, its more about creating “the mindset” that inevitably yields increased customer satisfaction, loyalty, and growth.
April 5, 2012 at 10:00 am
It is a excellent article, I like this kind of articles because enrich my perspective and I always learn something new by trying to get the point. I agree the customer is right in the sense that nowadays clients are not just looking for a product but for a quality service, they want guidance to make the purchase, and the salesmen are not just “sales people” anymore, they must act as a consultant, listening, analysing what is the true need of the client, not only try to sell something, but to find out the really need of the customer, so that he (the company) will be able satisfy the client.
e.g, I work for a Telecomunication company, let’s say a customer wants a postpaid plan and a cell phone, the customer service agent must realize if the customer, need a mobile just to make calls, or he needs internet access. If the customers only needs to make calls, the agent should not push the customer to buy a iPhone, but a more simple device. Did you get the point?. Greetings.