Providing excellent customer service and an all-around superior client-experience is something that every single business strives for, from retail to marketing. But in our eager quest for patron satisfaction, some things can take a turn for the less fortunate. Is the customer always right? Not at all!

In What Situations is the Client Wrong?

When it Leads to Employee Abuse

There are many situations when the client is being unreasonable, maybe even toxic. When this happens it’s best to not cave and to side with your employees. Remember: your employees are in your business working hard every day. A one-off customer won’t likely be back, but you count on that employee being happy and content with their work. Don’t make it hard for them by throwing them under the bus.

When you create a healthy workplace culture where you put your employees needs and health first, they’re far more likely to put the needs of your customers first. This drives down dissatisfaction, which can drastically mitigate problems related to the customer experience.

When it Leads to Other Customers Becoming Unhappy

Everyone has preferences and opinions, and it’s good business practice to accommodate as many of these as you can. However, avoid the more outlandish ones, and avoid making sweeping or major changes to the way your business operates based on a single negative review or confrontation. You likely have many loyal clients—catering to the more impractical patrons can have a very negative impact on the clientele you actually want to stick around.

When it Engenders Customer Entitlement

Cause a ruckus, get a free meal; make some noise about an employee you don’t like, the employee gets fired—unfortunately there are some serious jerks out there. Those jerks are at times, as we all are, customers within an establishment. If they notice that when they cause a stink they get things for free, they might choose to adopt that attitude long-term.

It’s very easy to simply want to give these clients what they want so that they will go away. Avoid the temptation! If the client’s unreasonable expectations weren’t met and now they want a freebie, well, good riddance! Do your part in not nurturing this sort of behavior, both for your sake and that of the other businesses in your area.

What You Can Do to Avoid the Problem Altogether

The number one thing you can do as a manager or business owner is to consistently use feedback to re-evaluate your customer experience. You need as large a sample size as possible, so include common ways to receive feedback including online review sources, an on-site comment box—you can even simply ask.

By pulling in as many opinions as possible, you can single out things that many of your customers are dissatisfied with. If a problem only comes up with one client out of 100, it’s probably a situation where the client isn’t right. If it comes up 15, 20 times then you can say that the issue is real, and then work to establish a healthy solution for everyone.

Remember that making our clients happy isn’t the same thing as treating them as if they are always correct. They’re people, and they get things wrong in a lot of ways, just as you or I do. Sometimes they want something they can’t have, sometimes they’re being petty or just strange—sometimes they’re just flat out wrong! Always be sure to assess the difference before you act and you’ll notice that overall your workplace will be happier, be healthier, and have more satisfied customers in the long run.

When the Customer is NOT Right (and What You Can Do)