Answering the Question of Whether the Customer Is Always Right

This started out as a reply to a comment left by my buddy Jim Kennan on yesterday’s post about rising up against bad customer service, but somehow it turned into another post. I want to thank Jim for chiming in and for bringing the other side of the discussion up. Here, in part, is what Jim had to say:

“Jerry, I’m behind you on poor customer service. BUT- I don’t believe the customer is always right. I don’t believe we need to just fall to our knees to the customer is KING, my lord and master.

There are customers I don’t want. Customers are not all the same. They don’t all have the same value. They are not all worth the same.

Every customer deserves to be treated with respect. NO QUESTION about that. But, we don’t owe customers anything more than respect.

Smart companies will use customer service as a differentiator, but they need to be smart about it…

Customers are not as loyal as you suggest.

My point, there is ABSOLUTELY a diminishing return to customer service.

As you’ve described here, appears to be well into the diminished returns.”

Jim makes a couple of excellent points. First, I totally support the right of a business to decide that they don’t want me as a customer. If that’s the case, I’d just ask that they implement clause #6 of the open letter and be honest about it. Tell me outright that you don’t want my business and I’ll gladly take it elsewhere; just don’t pretend like you care and are trying to be helpful when you don’t and you aren’t. I’m a big boy; you’re not going to hurt my feelings if you tell me you want me to go buy my widgets somewhere else.

I had a sales mentor once who always told me that if I didn’t fire my worst customer once a month, I’d be stuck with bad customers forever. It’s advice that’s served me well, and as a result of that policy I’m able to maintain a level of customer service that outshines anything my competition can offer. Why? Because I like the people I do business with and they like me.

Second, I understand completely that not all customers are as loyal as they should be; I wonder, though, how much of that can be blamed on the fact that businesses, for the most part, give them very little reason to be loyal. The fact is that many customers are incredibly loyal, and it usually has everything to do with customer service.

Take my relationship with Verizon Wireless as an example. I’ve been a Verizon customer for a number of years, and I’m a real fan of their customer service. In my experience, their phone reps are a delight to deal with and always make sure that any issues are resolved before they let me get off the phone. As a result, I recently tolerated a 3 year stretch of having no cell phone signal at my house because Verizon’s coverage was spotty in the county I was living in. All of my friends had AT&T and could make calls from my house. I could easily have switched to AT&T, but I chose to stay with Verizon because I love the people who work there.

What this post and the “open letter” campaign are really about is a determination to end the the tolerance of bad service. We as customers have become so accustomed to bad service that we just pretend like it’s something we have to get used to. But we don’t. We get to choose. Just like the business has a choice in whether or not they want us as customers, we have a choice and we need to exercise it more often.

So I’m encouraging people to make a clear statement of their intention to receive nothing lest than the best service available. I totally get that there are bad customers that no one should have to deal with, but I’m not one of them and neither are the majority of the people they deal with. In fact, we’re delightful as long as we feel like we’re being respected. Even when I don’t get my way, as long as the message is delivered in such a way that I believe the person gives a damn, I’m OK with it. What makes my head explode is when I here things like “There’s nothing I can doooooo!” delivered in that whiny voice that makes my skin crawl. Ugh!

The bottom line is that I care about my customers, and I choose them carefully. If you’re my customer, I AM going to treat you like King. Even when I have to tell you no, I’m going to figure out a way to do it that makes us both happy with the outcome. I expect the same from the businesses that want me to be their customer, and I won’t accept anything less. Yes, delivering great customer service is hard work and it’s expensive; and, if you take the time to attract the right kind of customers, it’ll be worth it.

Thanks again Jim!