Is the customer always right?

1. 68

   May PLposted 14 years ago

   Is the customer always right?

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2. 68

   tnvrstarposted 14 years ago

   To be a good seller you always have to agree that the customer is always right (whether he is right or not doesn't matter )

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3. 80

   Taleb80posted 14 years ago

   Sure, he is not.
   He is a human being also.
   If he is a customer for you business, he is a supplier in his business.
   But the problem, nobody tells his customer the truth that he is wrong, to avoid missing him.
   Anyway read this quote
   "If you listen closely enough, your customers will explain your business to you." - Peter Schutz

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4. 61

   hasan82posted 14 years ago

   In sales and marketing, yes customer is always right. Practically it is very difficult to satisfy customer.

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5. 39

   TopManagementposted 14 years ago

   No dear customer is not always right but when we do business then in every filed we give perferance to customer we aggre with him or her.....

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6. 60

   Stump Parrishposted 14 years ago

   It's obvious you have never worked in a restaurant, lol. No the customer is not always right. No one is always right about anything but in a restaurant most suddenly become geniuses. Who is more qualified to cook a medium rare steak, your drunk uncle Bob who burns everything, or a trained Chef? The number of people who take uncle Bob's word is staggering.

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7. 60

   Merlin Fraserposted 14 years ago

   I was always told, "win the argument lose a customer !"
   
   Right or wrong, rude or pleasant the customer is our bread and butter and of course some know that and abuse the privilage. You just have to smile and suck it up.
   
   The other thing I was taught was a customer is not really a customer until they come back !

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8. 62

   MickSposted 14 years ago

   The customer, even when wrong, is always right.  If the customer is demanding an absurd or impossible service or commodity, the answer is always polite, and along the lines:
   'Sorry sir, I've not heard of that, we certainly don't do it here, perhaps, ABC in the next town do, give them a try.'
   That way is helpful and probably means a returning customer.

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9. 61

   Right On Timeposted 14 years ago

   Nope, so glad I don't have to worry about that not working in sales, but if you are in direct client contact a lot then yes, you do need to act like they are right and forget about your feelings about this.

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10. 60

    rich_haylesposted 14 years ago

    Completely agree with some of the previous responses, the customer is king.
    In a feedback driven community like eBay it is potential business suicide to argue too much. Bite the bullet and take a hit rather than risking negative feedback and a huge drop in sales that come from it when you lose your top rated seller marker.

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11. 60

    jigg2009posted 14 years ago

    I agree but sometimes you just have to say "Take it or leave it"
    There's no way you can satisfy everyone and time is money.

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12. 61

    GNelsonposted 14 years ago

    Only if you want to stay in business is the customer always right.

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13. 68

    May PLposted 14 years ago

    Hey, thanks to you all for having participated so far. I read with a lot of interest your responses. While quite a few of your answers resonate with me, I like the concept the customer is king and what rich_hayles says about feedback driven community like eBay and it being potential business suicide to argue too much. jigg2009 also has a fantastic point that it is impossible to try to satisfy everyone and time is money.

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14. 59

    shynslyposted 14 years ago

    Like many others have said, right or wrong, the customer is always "king" (or queen).
    
    That said, though... doesn't mean he/she is not a complete arse!
    
    Having been in "customer oriented" fields (sat TV tech) where part of my job description was to practically kill myself for the customer, it always kills me when you hear people say "customer service is dead".
    
    Yet it's usually those same people that are the rude, whiny, and selfish (can't use the select adjectives I'd like to here, lol) types who demand something way above and beyond what the service person is supposed to do.
    
    You may be paying "good money" for whatever service, but odds are, little if any of it is going to that particular employee you feel the need to lambast. Always makes me wonder why they feel doing everything in their power to make that person miserable is going to inspire them to provide anything more than the bare minimum necessary to stay out of trouble.
    
      Seems it would do everyone, on both sides, a lot of good to remember, courtesy is a two way street.

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15. 61

    Azockieposted 14 years ago

    No the customer is not always right, however in a professional setting they may not be right however they are the consumer and No you do not have to bend over for them, yet you must maintain a demeanor where you are confident in your decision and that you are very aware of whatever policies may be in place. It is a medium you must come to between the customer and what is legally liable by you for your job!

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16. 39

    Scott_Griggposted 14 years ago

    No. True, hard to argue with a customer, but when someone belittles an employee or is nasty there's no excuse for that. The customer is right, most of the time, but not when they go to extremes.

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17. 60

    Gary Rowellposted 14 years ago

    If you have a potential customer, you should probably do everything you can do(within reason) to win them over so they become repeat customers, unless they are being rude to staff. It's a win/win, and word of mouth goes a long way.

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18. 84

    Pcunixposted 14 years ago

    No. Some customers are not worth having.
    
    Some cause more grief than their business could ever be worth.
    
    But this is only true if you work for yourself and have more business than you need.  In any other circumstance, the customer is almost always right.

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19. 72

    RocketCityWriterposted 14 years ago

    Yes! In Japan the saying goes: "Okyaku-sama wa kami-sama desu" which translates to "the customer is a god"!

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