The Customer Is NOT Always Right
Equipping Employees to Handle Challenging Customers
One of the most challenging obstacles to effective customer service is often the customers themselves. In the world of customer service, horror stories frequently begin with the implicit assumption that the customer was a reasonable, rational, and pleasant person who should have been easy to serve. This is sometimes the case, but the reality is that there are many instances when customers play an active role in creating their disappointing experiences. As the old saying goes, it takes two to tango.
I once sat on a hotel shuttle bus waiting for my ride to the airport while two angry women fumed because the hotel couldn’t find their reservation. The bus ran on a route between the airport and two hotels a short distance apart that were run by the same company. The trouble started when the women weren’t sure which hotel they were going to and the shuttle driver radioed a coworker for help finding their reservation.
The shuttle now sat in the driveway of one of the hotels while a guest service associate explained to the women that she was doing her best to locate their reservation. The hotel associate was gracious, apologized for the delay, and headed back inside to keep searching. The two women got even more agitated after the associate left, grousing about how stupid she was and swearing they would never stay at the hotel again. The shuttle driver reboarded the bus and attempted to make a little small talk, but the women were so unpleasant that he quickly exited.
The guest service associate came back to the bus a few minutes later. “I apologize for the delay, but we finally figured it out,” she said. “We checked with our other hotels in the area after we couldn’t find your reservation here. We discovered it had been made at our sister hotel on the other side of town.”
The two women sat in stunned silence. All of this hubbub was their fault. The guest service associate gave them the option of staying at the hotel where they currently were, though she cautioned them the rate would be significantly higher. The other option was that the hotel would provide them with a complimentary shuttle ride to the hotel where they had made their reservation.
But the women still weren’t happy. They wanted to know why the rates were so much higher at this hotel. The associate calmly explained that rates were a function of a number of factors, including current occupancy levels, the hotel’s amenities, and its location. This was a full-service hotel with a beautiful view of the bay; the other property was a limited-service hotel in an industrial part of town. They also wanted to know how far they were from the other property and were upset to learn it would be another twenty-minute bus ride to get there. However, they ultimately decided to accept the shuttle ride and stay at the other hotel.
I was glad to finally be heading to the airport, but the whole situation left me mystified. The problem occurred because the two women made an error. The problem got worse because they expected the hotel to offer them a substantial discount, despite the mistake having been their own. They never even thanked the guest service associate or shuttle driver for being so patient or for offering them a free ride.
In this chapter, we’ll reexamine the notion that the customer is always right. You’ll see how customers can make mistakes, have unreasonable expectations, engage in self-sabotaging behavior, and even abuse the people they expect to help them. All of these customer behaviors can lead to disappointing service, but there are also solutions that will help your employees overcome these obstacles.
The phrase “the customer is always right” has become a fixture in our customer service culture, but where did it come from? Some historians attribute it to a quote from Chicago merchant Marshall Field: “Right or wrong, the customer is always right.” Others believe the quote actually came from Field’s right-hand man, Harry Gordon Selfridge, who went on to open his own successful chain of retail stores. Still others think it’s a modification of a quote from the famous hotelier César Ritz: “The customer is never wrong.” A few historians attribute it to Philadelphia merchant John Wanamaker.1
All four of these men were customer service pioneers in the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries. They introduced customer-friendly policies, insisted on high-quality products and services, and treated their employees much better than most employers at the time. Their versions of “the customer is always right” describe a successful business philosophy rather than a literal rule for doing business.
John Goodman, vice chairman of the noted customer loyalty agency TARP Worldwide, estimates that 20 percent to 30 percent of customer dissatisfaction is a result of the customer making an error or having unrealistic expectations.2 Unfortunately, many of these customers still believe the customer is literally always right. They assume that any problem is automatically the company’s or employee’s fault rather than accept their share of the responsibility.
Customers like these can be angry, upset, and unreasonable. I often see airline passengers running late for a flight who loudly complain about the airport’s poor layout, the disorganized security checkpoint, and the unhelpful airline employees without acknowledging that their troubles were really caused by arriving at the airport only thirty minutes before their flight. Their anger and frustration causes them to take an intractable position when they lodge their complaint.
Sometimes a customer’s mistake can make the difference between evaluating the same experience as outstanding or poor. While scanning Yelp a while ago, I saw that a customer had given my local barbershop a one-star rating. I couldn’t believe my barbershop merited such a low rating from anyone, so I read the review.
The reviewer felt the location was convenient and his haircut was good. He even commented on the pleasant shoulder massage the barbers give customers with a vibrating massager at the end of the cut. But the barbershop still received just one star because the reviewer felt the haircut was too expensive at $20. However, the barbershop was not charging $20 for a haircut, but $12.
Perhaps the reviewer would have given a four- or even a five-star rating if he had the correct price in mind. Instead, he wrote a review on Yelp that warned other customers to stay away.
Some customers simply disagree with a company’s policies and expect special treatment. While eating breakfast in a café one day, I overheard a customer arguing with his server. He was upset about the café’s prices and wanted a discount.
This café, like many restaurants, offers various combination plates, but it also has an à la carte menu. The restaurant entices patrons to order the combination plates with prices that are lower than if the items were ordered à la carte. This patron was upset that he would be charged $6.95 for the eggs, meat, potatoes, and toast special, even though he didn’t want the potatoes. The server tried to explain that the meal was still a good deal because the eggs, meat, and toast would cost the customer more if ordered à la carte, but the customer insisted he should receive a discount.
The server called the manager over, and the argument continued. I admired the server and the manager for their patience and tactfulness with this unreasonable guest, but the complaints weren’t very pleasant background noise for my breakfast. Finally, after ten minutes of wrangling back and forth, they settled on another selection that the customer felt was fairly priced. The customer scowled as he sat by himself and ate his meal, but he was mercifully silent. When he finished, he paid his bill and walked out without leaving a tip.
Customer service employees often feel stuck when fielding a complaint from a customer who is obviously wrong. Human nature may cause the employee to point out the customer’s error, but that’s usually an unwinnable argument. A much better solution is to modernize the “customer is always right” philosophy and operate by the rule that the customer should always feel right.
The best way to make customers feel right is to help them avoid being wrong, which you do by creating generous, customer-friendly policies.
Zane’s Cycles has built a national reputation for outstanding customer service by consistently giving customers more than what seems reasonable. For example, the company’s bikes come with a lifetime service guarantee covering all tune-ups and repairs arising from normal use. Zane’s Cycles will even give away any part that costs less than a dollar. These generous policies make it more difficult for customers to find anything to be upset about when their bike needs maintenance.3
Companies are often afraid to be too generous because they worry about the cost, but Zane’s Cycles recognizes the economic advantage of this strategy. Offering a lifetime service program gives customers a reason to come back to the store, where they’re likely to buy additional accessories and eventually their next bike. Giving away parts worth less than a dollar cost Zane’s Cycles $86 one year, but it also created the opportunity to delight 450 customers.
When a customer does make a mistake, generous policies can empower employees with more options to make a customer feel right.
The two ladies who arrived at the wrong hotel were offered a free shuttle ride even though the hotel was under no obligation to do so. This cost the hotel time and money, but it saved the two women a $20 cab ride and ensured they made it safely to the correct destination. The free shuttle ride helped alleviate their anger and kept the situation from escalating into a confrontation in front of the hotel.
Another important step is to train employees to avoid placing blame and instead refocus on finding a solution. For example, airline passengers who arrive at the airport just thirty minutes before flight time are running late no matter whose fault it is. I’ve seen passengers’ emotions instantly change from anxiety and frustration to gratitude when a compassionate employee escorts them to the head of the ticketing line or to the front of the security checkpoint to ensure they make their flight on time.
A big worry for customer service managers is what to do when a customer’s mistake leads to a poor experience and that customer chooses to vent his frustrations in a public forum like Twitter or Yelp. The negative review can be harmful to business, but arguing with the customer online for anyone to see can make the business look even worse. Adopting the “customer should always feel right” philosophy can work here, too.
Best Buy provides a great example of how to tactfully avoid arguments and focus on solutions. Customers often post complaints about products and services in public forums such as Twitter. A dedicated team of the company’s customer service professionals monitors these forums and quickly responds to each complaint. The reps acknowledge the customer’s frustration and provide their contact information, along with an offer to try to resolve the problem.4
This approach works well for three reasons. First, offering to help the customer gives Best Buy an opportunity to rectify a problem. Second, it sends a signal to anyone else who may view the interaction that Best Buy takes customer service seriously. Third, there are many instances where the problem gets resolved and a now-satisfied customer posts a follow-up remark thanking Best Buy for its assistance. In recent years, as the company has endured financial difficulties and suffered a number of well-publicized customer service setbacks, Best Buy’s ability to engage some of its angry customers online has been a bright spot that has helped stem a wave of customer defections.
Occasionally, a tired or distracted customer will simply lose the ability to think clearly. This makes it awfully tough for the customer service representative, who has to remember that the customer should always feel right! Once again, the best solution is to avoid arguing with the customer and offer a solution instead. Here’s an example from Rama, who worked as a front desk agent at a hotel in Las Vegas:
I was checking in an older gentleman when he asked me what time it was in Las Vegas. I told him it was 6:05 p.m. He told me that he didn’t want the time in Los Angeles, but in Las Vegas. My response was that L.A. and Las Vegas are in the same time zone and it was, indeed, 6:05 p.m.
He informed me that my watch was set to L.A. time because that’s where all the hotel employees lived, and I should set it to Las Vegas time, where I commute [to work]. After ten minutes of going around and around with him about the time, I finally realized it was a no-win situation. I looked at my watch, which now said 6:15, and responded, “I am so sorry. You’re right; I never adjusted my watch when I got to work today. It’s actually 6:18.” He accepted that, thanked me, and went up to his room. I knew that the extra three minutes I added in wouldn’t make him too early or too late for anything, including his flight home.
Putting employees in the position to say “Yes” instead of “No” helps them avoid confrontations or arguments and allows them to focus on resolving the customer’s complaint. When employees are successful at handling these situations, they make their customers feel like they are on the same side. They approach the problem as partners, rather than adversaries, and work with the customer to provide a successful outcome.
Customers Have Varied Expectations
Your customers evaluate the service you provide based on how well you meet their expectations. They believe they have received good service when you have met their expectations, poor service when you have fallen short of their expectations, and outstanding service when you have exceeded their expectations.
The challenge employees face is that all customers have different expectations, and no two customers are exactly the same. Let’s consider a hypothetical example where three customers walk into their local grocery store to buy milk, eggs, and bread.
Customer A walks into the store and quickly picks up the milk and eggs. She heads for the bread aisle, where she encounters Jim, a longtime store employee. Jim and customer A exchange hellos as customer A walks by, grabs the bread, and heads for the register. She’s in and out in less than ten minutes. All of her expectations have been met, so she’d rate her in-store experience as “Good.”
Customer B walks into the store a few minutes later and quickly picks up the milk and eggs. She heads for the bread aisle, where she, too, encounters Jim, the longtime store employee. Customer B pauses and asks Jim which brand of bread is the freshest today. He asks her a few questions and then suggests some freshly baked rolls from the store’s bakery department that would be perfect for the sandwiches she plans to make for lunch. He then walks her over to the store’s bakery department, where he hands her the warm rolls, which also happen to be on sale. Customer B’s expectations have been exceeded by Jim’s friendly and helpful service, so she’d rate her experience as “Outstanding.”
Customer C walks into the store a few minutes after customer B. She also quickly picks up the milk and eggs and heads for the bread aisle, where she encounters Jim. Customer C is in a hurry, so she doesn’t notice Jim smiling and saying “Hello” as she walks by. Unfortunately, customer C is in such a hurry that she drops the carton of eggs as she struggles to reach for a loaf of bread on the top shelf with her hands already full. She angrily mutters that the store doesn’t know how to stock bread so that people can easily reach it. She grabs the bread and heads toward the register, leaving the carton of broken eggs in the bread aisle. Customer C leaves the store in a bad mood and without any eggs, so she’d rate her experience as “Poor.”
Jim, the store employee, took the same approach with each customer, but there were three different outcomes. His error was assuming that all three customers simply expected him to be friendly and to offer assistance when asked. Customer A may have expected nothing more than a friendly greeting, but Jim wouldn’t know that for sure unless he had offered some assistance. Jim lucked out with customer B because she asked him a question that prompted Jim to provide more service. He could have saved customer C from a disappointing experience if he had noticed her struggling to reach the bread and had proactively lent a hand before she dropped the carton of eggs.
Sometimes, two customers can view the same experience very differently. There’s a wine bar that I enjoy visiting because it has great service, features local wines, and the bartenders often help me discover something new. I decided to write a review on Yelp after visiting a few times and was surprised by some of the reviews others had written. Many people like me rated the wine bar four or five stars (on a five-point scale), but about a third of the reviews were only one or two stars. When I looked closely I discovered that the comments made by the high and low raters described similar experiences.
These ratings told me that the wine bar offered consistent service, but it wasn’t right for everyone. The people who gave it low ratings had expected a more romantic setting with attentive servers. They were surprised by the boisterous atmosphere and disappointed by all the time employees spent chatting with the people at the bar. Ironically, the very things they disliked were cited as positives by the people who gave high ratings.
How can you provide outstanding service if you can’t be all things to all people and customers have infinitely variable expectations? The answer lies in how you manage customer expectations and then adapt your service to meet their needs.
The first step is helping customers maintain reasonable expectations. An easy method is to find out if someone is a first-time customer. One of my favorite local restaurants has an unusual menu, so servers are trained to ask customers, “Have you been here before?” If they say “No,” the server will take a moment to explain the menu and point out other ways the restaurant is a little unique.
This approach works in other settings, too. Mechanics avoid misunderstandings when they provide a written estimate up front and clearly explain any recommended service. Doctors make their patients feel more at ease when they describe a procedure before conducting an examination. A butcher provides extra confidence when he offers a few grilling tips after helping a customer pick out a few steaks for a backyard cookout.
One caveat when setting expectations is that customers tend to hear what they want to hear. If a customer drops off some clothes at the dry cleaner and is told her clothes will be ready in two to three days, the customer is likely to hear “two days.” It’s always better to say “three days” if that’s the longest it will take. If the clothes are ready in three days, the customer will be satisfied. If they are ready in two days, you have an opportunity to exceed expectations by calling the customer and letting her know her dry cleaning is done early.
The second step in effectively serving a wide variety of customers is to adapt your service to suit customer needs.
I once visited a winery with my wife and parents. The first employee who greeted us was very energetic and outgoing and seemed to know a million jokes and funny lines. Unfortunately, he was more focused on putting on a good show than answering our questions about the wine we were tasting.
This employee eventually became distracted by a large group of people arriving on a tour bus, so a second employee came over to assist us. She was much more reserved but knew a lot about the wines she was pouring. She answered all of our questions and even gave us a sample of a special wine that wasn’t on the menu. As she rang up a couple of bottles of the wine we decided to purchase, I couldn’t help noticing the first employee’s picture on the “Employee of the Month” sign over the cash register. We all agreed the second employee’s service was much better.
This experience reminded me of the Platinum Rule of customer service. Many of us have heard of the Golden Rule, which suggests that we treat customers the way we want to be treated. The Platinum Rule is an upgraded version that suggests we treat customers the way they want to be treated. This requires employees to listen carefully, ask questions, and adapt their service to each individual customer.
Customers are often their own worst enemy when it comes to receiving great service. They inadvertently or sometimes deliberately create obstacles for the employees who are trying to help them. Self-sabotaging customers may not realize they are causing their own frustration (especially if they believe the customer is always right), so they will sometimes get angrier and angrier the more an employee tries to help them.
Some customers struggle to explain what they need, especially when they’re in a hurry or angry. Here’s an example from Marjorie, a customer service rep for a long-distance telephone company:
One Sunday afternoon a very angry man called. He started off telling me his 1-800 number wasn’t working, and then went off on a string of other issues he had. When I tried to ask him questions about the 1-800 number, he went off on me and told me I was stupid and I obviously didn’t know how to do my job. He wouldn’t give me any of the information I needed to help him—just told me to figure it out.
I tried repeatedly to tell him that I needed some basic level of information to help him, but he apparently wanted me to be a mind reader. In the end, he said, “I don’t care about my 1-800 number, I’m mad that my calling card doesn’t work.” The calling card was barely mentioned in his original tirade, but that was the one thing he wanted from the call … well, that and to berate a total stranger!
Occasionally, customers will inexplicably and deliberately give misinformation to customer service representatives. Here’s an example from Noyan, who worked for an outdoor retailer:
I had a customer walk up to the counter and tell me that he received a call from us stating the sleeping bag we special-ordered for him had come in. When I asked his name, he replied, “Bill.” I hurried back to our stockroom to find his sleeping bag, but after frantically searching for almost five minutes, I couldn’t find it. I then checked our call log to see which one of my coworkers contacted him, but his name was nowhere to be found on our list.
I finally realized that no one had ordered Bill’s item. When I broke the news to him he was outraged and demanded I find him the item he wanted. “I’m so sorry,” I replied, “but we only have one left and it was ordered by Robert, but if he doesn’t pick it up by the end of the week it’s yours.” Suddenly Bill’s demeanor completely changed as he calmly replied, “Oh, that’s right, I told you guys my name was Robert when I ordered it because I don’t like people knowing my real name.” After verifying his other contact information, I realized he was telling the truth.
Customer service employees have to deal with a wide range of emotions when trying to serve customers who self-sabotage. It can be frustrating to earnestly attempt to help customers whose actions make it difficult or even impossible to please them. Customer service gets even more difficult when, despite your best efforts to serve, the self-sabotaging customer assumes the problem is your fault.
This frustration can consume an employee’s focus, making it hard to see what the employee could have done differently or better. Employees often need a supportive boss or coworker who can help them learn from the situation and come up with a different approach the next time they encounter a similar customer. One of my favorite techniques is a simple exercise called the Circle of Influence.
To do this exercise with an employee, I first draw a circle on a piece of paper. I then explain that everything inside the circle represents what the employee can directly control and everything outside of the circle represents things the employee cannot control. We then revisit the difficult situation and list things the employee can control, such as the way the employee greets the customer. Next, we list things the employee can’t control, such as the customer’s emotions. Finally, we brainstorm ways the employee can expand his circle of influence to exert greater control over the situation.
I once did the Circle of Influence exercise with a group of social workers who were frustrated by clients who would show up at their office unannounced and then get upset when their social worker wasn’t able to see them. One of the simplest solutions identified during this exercise was to proactively call clients to schedule appointments in advance. For the social workers, it took a few extra minutes of their time, but they realized they were spending the same amount of time dealing with angry clients who showed up unannounced.
Think back to the last time you encountered a total stranger who was rude to you. Perhaps an aggressive driver nearly ran you off the road. Or someone at the grocery store kept bumping her cart into the back of your legs while you were waiting in line. Or you might have met your new neighbor when she started screaming at you from across the street because she wrongly assumed you weren’t picking up after your dog.
Scenarios like these cause your natural defensive instincts to kick in. Your adrenaline levels increase when you’re confronted by an aggressive, angry, and unpredictable person. You naturally focus on trying to get yourself safely out of the situation. Afterward, the memory lingers in a mixture of relief that you’re safe and disbelief at the other person’s actions.
Now imagine this unpredictable and perhaps angry person is a customer, and it’s your job to try to make him happy.
Although not the norm, customers can be abusive. They may yell, scream, rant, rave, and occasionally attack physically as well as emotionally. Dealing with them can be a harrowing experience. Here’s an example from Andrew, who has worked as a bartender for more than fifteen years:
I had ten patrons waiting to get a drink, so I had to move quickly, calmly, and deliver the best I could. I finished with one customer, ran his credit card, and set it down in front of him for him to sign. He was talking to the man next to him, and I finished with that man, setting his credit card down for him to sign. At this point, I was on to the rest of the customers.
One of the two men comes back furious about ten minutes later and blames me for running the wrong credit card. That was not the case; he just thought I did [it wrong]. Apparently he had left with the other man’s card instead of his own. The other man was long gone. He begins telling me that I am an idiot and that I need to be fired. He then throws the credit card at my face while demanding that I go out and find the guy who has his credit card.
Needless to say, it worked out in the end. The other guy returned with the credit card later that night and both men got their cards back.
Some customers are so outrageous, their behavior is criminal. Do a Google search on “fast food 911 call” and you’ll be treated to story after story of customers calling 911 over customer service disputes. Search “angry McDonald’s customer” on YouTube and you can watch an angry, drunken McDonald’s customer attacking employees through the drive-through window. Try Googling “unruly airline passenger” and you’ll read stories of angry passengers disrupting flights; some of their behavior is so bad that it has prompted concerns about terrorist activity.
Customer service can be tough enough as it is, but abusive customers can make service virtually impossible. The solution to working with these select few customers is simple: Invite them to take their business elsewhere. These customers often represent a net loss for your business after you subtract the cost of discounts, service recovery, and extra employee time from the revenue they bring in. Many of them create an unpleasant scene that negatively impacts other customers and drives them away, too. Perhaps most important, these customers subject your employees to hostile, intimidating, or abusive behavior that can create an environment where your employees don’t want to work.
Customer service leaders should expect a lot from their employees, but they should demonstrate a strong commitment to them in return. When I was a customer service manager, I could tell how grateful my employees were when I calmly and professionally explained to customers that they couldn’t yell and curse at our employees. Sometimes, these customers changed their demeanor after speaking with a manager, and other times they simply decided to take their business elsewhere. No matter what the result, I always saw my employees renew their commitment to customer service because they knew I supported them.
Solution Summary: Overcoming Challenging Customers
Understanding the role that customers play in their service experience isn’t an excuse for poor employee performance. As you’ll see in subsequent chapters, poor customer service can often be attributed to poor employee performance, poor leadership, poor policies and procedures, or all of the above.
However, customer service leaders must understand all the reasons it can be so challenging to make customers happy—including the fact that the customer isn’t always right.
Here is a short summary of the solutions presented in this chapter:
• Create generous, customer-friendly policies that make it easier for customers to be right.
• Train employees to avoid placing blame when a customer makes an error, and to focus on finding a solution instead.
• Avoid arguing with customers in public forums such as Twitter, but publicly acknowledge their feelings and offer to address the issue in private.
• Identify new customers and take a moment to let them know what they can expect so that they won’t encounter any unpleasant surprises.
• Remember that customers tend to hear what they want to hear, so be careful not to be overly optimistic when setting expectations.
• Operate by the Platinum Rule: Treat customers the way they want to be treated.
• Learn how to get better results with self-sabotaging customers by conducting a Circle of Influence exercise.
• Invite abusive customers to take their business somewhere else to prevent them from draining resources, driving away other customers, and discouraging employees.
Notes
1. The Phrase Finder gives a nice overview of the history of “The customer is always right” at www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/106700.html. John Wanamaker is credited as the author of this saying on a website for Macy’s in the Wanamaker Building in Philadelphia; see www.visitmacysphiladelphia.com/groups.cfm.
2. John Goodman shared this statistic in his presentation called “Treating Employees as Customers,” the International Customer Management Institute (ICMI) Dreamforce 2010 conference, San Francisco, December 8, 2010.
3. Chris Zane, Reinventing the Wheel: The Science of Creating Lifetime Customers (Dallas: BenBella Books, 2011).
4. You can view Best Buy’s discussions with customers on its Twitter feed: @twelpforce.