"The customer is always right."
I'm not sure when the phrase originated, but what I do know is that it is one of the most influential phrases in this age, the age of the consumer. Whether preached or assumed, businesses big and small, use the simple statement as a way to precipitate customer service.
But therein lies the problem.
"The customer is always right" is too simple. So simple that it leaves little to no room for interpretation, especially by its prime beneficiaries: consumers. It breeds a simplistic expectation: immediate, constant perfection.
Most consumers are conscious of their synonymous role as the customer, and some of those same people are often aware of "the customer is always right." Knowing that, if their service is not up to their expectations, some know they can pull "the customer card" at any time and, most times, get their way. What's worse, though, is that knowledge of ownership of a "customer card" sometimes leads to customers going too far, using their empowered status to become aggressively and combatively demanding. And who's the target of their aggressive stance? Often times, it's the servicer; the employee. Fast food is a great example. Just the words "fast food" give rise to an idea of a fast, convenient product. Because of that inherit speed and convenience, there is rarely room for patience. There should be, but often times there isn't.
Members of the service industry do the things most don't want to. They make the food, stock the shelves, bag the groceries, take the phone calls and more. In a sense, they're doing the customer a favor. They're saving the customer the anguish of having to alter their plan by doing the work themselves. We should all be appreciative.
But are we?
Many are not.
I once sat in the drive-through lane of a fast food establishment, my car idling as I waited for the line of customers to proceed. The vehicle in front of me was a little crooked in line when it reached the window, and I could see a reflection of the female driver's face in her side mirror.
The window opened, money was exchanged, and then food was handed through. The product froze, suspended between the vehicle and the window: the order was wrong. The employee's hands retracted the food, presumably to correct the order, revealing the side mirror and the woman's face.Recalling a poster I once saw featuring all the faces of human emotion, I would have to say that the woman's face classified as annoyed and/or angered. Her eyebrows went up, she let out a giant sigh, and her hands began gyrating through the air as she ranted to ... no one.
There she sat, in her empty car, spewing aggression over her snafu-ed order. She did that for nearly 10 seconds, until the employee returned and handed through the corrected order.
10 seconds.
The woman snatched the food from the employee and sped off. I wish that were the only instance of consumer entitlement gone wrong that I've ever seen but, unfortunately, it's not.
I've seen a man raise his voice at a restaurant host because the wait was long and someone who arrived after he got seated just minutes before him. It was a busy Friday night, and tens of people got to play witness. I've seen a grown woman at a Milwaukee Brewers fan event become emotionally distraught because she lost her ticket for an autograph, a ticket she didn't pay for, and the event staff would not allow her in line, a line consisting mostly of little kids. On and on it goes, and I'm sure I'm not the only person to see these happenings. However, seeing is not enough. One must notice what is happening and why it is happening.
The "customer is always right" concept, while it has given a focus on customer service, has also birthed a deep-rooted sense of entitlement among many consumers. That, possibly combined with an unspoken disrespect for those in the service industry, has given rise to a population of people who, on the surface, seem kind and normal but, when rubbed the wrong way while wearing their "consumer hat," become something completely different.
Consuming, more popularly known as "shopping," while it was once done out of necessity, has become a task associated with joy, akin to other freetime activities such as reading and playing with pets. I've even seen shopping on a person's Facebook profile, under "interests." And with the good time that people tag to consuming, expectations become high. However, the stakes are not.
How much do we stand to lose if our service, if our shopping trip, isn't as perfect as we expect? Very little. Yes, we pay money, but how much really? Regardless of the cost, is it worth attacking, belittling or embarrassing another human being, another member of your community? Sure sometimes an employee, too, can be unruly; I understand that. And for that, the message for both is simple: treat each other better.
But as consumers, we must take a step back and reassess what we are doing. If ever in a situation where the service is not up to par with expectations, before pulling out the consumer power card on the person serving you, try to imagine coming in contact with that person in some other setting and determine if the way you're thinking about acting is appropriate.
Hopefully you'll realize that the person wearing the "How may I help you?" name tag is not just someone there to serve your shopping experience, but a person just like you, working a job and, hopefully, trying to do their best. And if they are, just maybe you can give them your best in return. Because after all, in the grand scheme of things, the interactions and surrounding scenarios of consumer and servicer are but a blip on the radar of life. In short, lighten up my friends.
- Jeremy Pink is News Clerk at The Monroe Times and has a blog, www.greatamericanrage.com. He can be reached at newsclerk@themonroetimes.com
I'm not sure when the phrase originated, but what I do know is that it is one of the most influential phrases in this age, the age of the consumer. Whether preached or assumed, businesses big and small, use the simple statement as a way to precipitate customer service.
But therein lies the problem.
"The customer is always right" is too simple. So simple that it leaves little to no room for interpretation, especially by its prime beneficiaries: consumers. It breeds a simplistic expectation: immediate, constant perfection.
Most consumers are conscious of their synonymous role as the customer, and some of those same people are often aware of "the customer is always right." Knowing that, if their service is not up to their expectations, some know they can pull "the customer card" at any time and, most times, get their way. What's worse, though, is that knowledge of ownership of a "customer card" sometimes leads to customers going too far, using their empowered status to become aggressively and combatively demanding. And who's the target of their aggressive stance? Often times, it's the servicer; the employee. Fast food is a great example. Just the words "fast food" give rise to an idea of a fast, convenient product. Because of that inherit speed and convenience, there is rarely room for patience. There should be, but often times there isn't.
Members of the service industry do the things most don't want to. They make the food, stock the shelves, bag the groceries, take the phone calls and more. In a sense, they're doing the customer a favor. They're saving the customer the anguish of having to alter their plan by doing the work themselves. We should all be appreciative.
But are we?
Many are not.
I once sat in the drive-through lane of a fast food establishment, my car idling as I waited for the line of customers to proceed. The vehicle in front of me was a little crooked in line when it reached the window, and I could see a reflection of the female driver's face in her side mirror.
The window opened, money was exchanged, and then food was handed through. The product froze, suspended between the vehicle and the window: the order was wrong. The employee's hands retracted the food, presumably to correct the order, revealing the side mirror and the woman's face.Recalling a poster I once saw featuring all the faces of human emotion, I would have to say that the woman's face classified as annoyed and/or angered. Her eyebrows went up, she let out a giant sigh, and her hands began gyrating through the air as she ranted to ... no one.
There she sat, in her empty car, spewing aggression over her snafu-ed order. She did that for nearly 10 seconds, until the employee returned and handed through the corrected order.
10 seconds.
The woman snatched the food from the employee and sped off. I wish that were the only instance of consumer entitlement gone wrong that I've ever seen but, unfortunately, it's not.
I've seen a man raise his voice at a restaurant host because the wait was long and someone who arrived after he got seated just minutes before him. It was a busy Friday night, and tens of people got to play witness. I've seen a grown woman at a Milwaukee Brewers fan event become emotionally distraught because she lost her ticket for an autograph, a ticket she didn't pay for, and the event staff would not allow her in line, a line consisting mostly of little kids. On and on it goes, and I'm sure I'm not the only person to see these happenings. However, seeing is not enough. One must notice what is happening and why it is happening.
The "customer is always right" concept, while it has given a focus on customer service, has also birthed a deep-rooted sense of entitlement among many consumers. That, possibly combined with an unspoken disrespect for those in the service industry, has given rise to a population of people who, on the surface, seem kind and normal but, when rubbed the wrong way while wearing their "consumer hat," become something completely different.
Consuming, more popularly known as "shopping," while it was once done out of necessity, has become a task associated with joy, akin to other freetime activities such as reading and playing with pets. I've even seen shopping on a person's Facebook profile, under "interests." And with the good time that people tag to consuming, expectations become high. However, the stakes are not.
How much do we stand to lose if our service, if our shopping trip, isn't as perfect as we expect? Very little. Yes, we pay money, but how much really? Regardless of the cost, is it worth attacking, belittling or embarrassing another human being, another member of your community? Sure sometimes an employee, too, can be unruly; I understand that. And for that, the message for both is simple: treat each other better.
But as consumers, we must take a step back and reassess what we are doing. If ever in a situation where the service is not up to par with expectations, before pulling out the consumer power card on the person serving you, try to imagine coming in contact with that person in some other setting and determine if the way you're thinking about acting is appropriate.
Hopefully you'll realize that the person wearing the "How may I help you?" name tag is not just someone there to serve your shopping experience, but a person just like you, working a job and, hopefully, trying to do their best. And if they are, just maybe you can give them your best in return. Because after all, in the grand scheme of things, the interactions and surrounding scenarios of consumer and servicer are but a blip on the radar of life. In short, lighten up my friends.
- Jeremy Pink is News Clerk at The Monroe Times and has a blog, www.greatamericanrage.com. He can be reached at newsclerk@themonroetimes.com
