Customer Satisfaction Article 

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On many leaders desks, walls or their notice boards you’ll often find a sign  (in big black or red letters normally) which says: 

“Rule No 1: The customer is always right!

Rule 2: If the customer is ever wrong, refer to rule no 1!”

What this really says/asks from the employee, in whichever capacity they serve the customer is that they should always place customer satisfaction and excellent customer service first and last. 

But in this course we ask the following question: is this still pertinent in todays world? Is the business world which can be so specialised, intricate and exacting still built for that type of philosophy for you and your employees?

The myth goes that Harry Selfridge, the founder of Selfridges’s Department Store in London in 1909 invented the phrase, “The customer is always right.” 

Is this thought process now - more than a decade later - still applicable?

Do you, when you use this philosophy, disregard your employees and their feelings? Do you because of this, allow unreasonable clients to use and abuse your staff? Would it now be beneficial for you to ut your organisation and its work force first and then they in turn will put your customers first? 

When those who are in charge take the side of the client, does that make your staff feel undervalued? Will this mean that your most important resource, your employees do not deserve respect from your customers. Where does that leave them when they give advice and direction?

Do we as a company, group or organisation sometimes go to ridiculous lengths and extents to meet customers needs? Is it to the benefit of the company at large and the employee in particular who has to deal with this. Is the monetary gain worth it as compared to the emotional drain and the time strain? 

All of these intriguing issues are looked at so that you can determine what suits your company ethos and your employees. 

The “Is the client always right?” course is an in depth look at what the right course would be for you to navigate this particularly sticky situation which can be murky waters and which can bring about pitfalls and deep resentment. Employees can often feel miserable when their sole purpose is being there to appease the client. The tide over the last twenty years has certainly turned in this regard and often the departure point should actually be that we will only have happy clients when our employees who deal with them at the counters, on the floor or behind a cash point is happy. It therefore follows on that these happy employees will go more than the extra mile to ensure that their clients that they interface with are happy too. 

In all honesty there are customers who know that they can manipulate with their obtrusiveness, malicious behaviour or over powering rudeness to get what they want. Some people are just like that. Can you afford to serve such people at all costs, and perhaps alienate other “pleasant”customers who do not want to witness a shouting match or a scene? 

In many cases your business can probably get along without their custom - hard as that may seem to say. This course is the one for you if this is a philosophy that needs updating, polishing or replacing.