The Customer Is Always Right (Even When They're Wrong)

So I knocked on the door but the driver stared resolutely ahead. I went round to the front of the bus to try to attract his attention but he somehow didn’t notice me. Even when I banged on the windscreen his eyes failed to meet mine. Then the lights turned to green, I gave up and stepped aside and the bus sailed away. What a swine, I said to my wife, we could have been on that bus. Just as well, she said, it wasn’t our bus!

Which just goes to show that the customer isn’t always right. I know this only too well as someone who has worked directly with the public most of my life. When a customer complained recently that her Steiff teddy’s head was wobbly, I reassured her that this was a feature of some of their bears. But I did understand her concern and I now try to remember to mention this characteristic in our website advertising copy.

As a business owner, I’ve learned that even if customers are wrong, they’re right to complain. You need to know that they’re unhappy. That way, if they have a legitimate complaint, you can put it right and, if they haven’t, you can politely explain why they’re mistaken. Either way, you won’t lose your customer.

I think I’ve mentioned in a previous article the time I was working for a theatre and a customer complained that, although he’d enjoyed the production of Singin’ In The Rain, he was disappointed that it veered so far away from the original film which, as he recalled, concerned three sailors in New York.

The key in responding to customers who have made a mistake is to avoid making them feel foolish. It would have been easy simply to say that he was getting the musical confused with On The Town but, to soften the blow, I acknowledged that, because Gene Kelly was in both film musicals, the confusion was understandable.

Similarly when a customer complained about the cruelty to animals in a production of Doctor Dolittle, I gently explained that they were all animatronics and took it as tribute to their realism.

If only, Car Hire 2000 had been as nice to me when I complained that I had been overcharged by the car rental company they use in France. They could have chosen to point out that, although customers book additional drivers with them, it’s the local car rental company that actually makes the charge. They could have shown some understanding as to why I might have misunderstood, given that the additional excess insurance I bought was paid direct to Car Hire 2000. Instead a curt email directed me to the small print and made me feel like a fool for not having read it. I’m unlikely to book a car through them again.

Readers who submit articles must agree to our terms of use. The content is the sole responsibility of the contributor and is unmoderated. But we will react if anything that breaks the rules comes to our attention. If you wish to complain about this article, contact us here