Tuesday, December 14, 2010
The Customer is Always Right…right?
I can’t tell you as a retailer, how many times that I have heard that statement. I heard it from retail consultants, read it in trade publications and heard it from the lips of virtually thousands during my nearly 50 years in retail. I even had the fortune to see it not just as a catch phrase but as a core strategy during the years I called on Nordstrom buyers. Nordstrom being the poster child for being the ultimate, customer centric retailer. I have my own amazing stories to add to fabled tales such as the customer that returned an automobile tire to Nordstrom which was gladly accepted without a receipt, or the fact that Nordstrom does not sell tires!
Nordstrom department stores certainly put their money where the mouth is when it comes to “The customer is always right.” This holiday season Kohl department store is promoting something similar with a “no receipt necessary” policy. Is this a strategy that you should include in your business?
It certainly depends on what business you are in. There are of course many products where it would be impossible to restock or return the item to inventory to be resold because of health issues or quality assurance. But, there is a more basic question at hand that goes beyond the just the return of merchandise. What about meals in restaurants, movie tickets for disappointing movies, or a cruise on the Love Boat that did not have an amorous ending? The product or service was consumed/used and a request of a refund in submitted. Is the customer right, no matter what?
We have all heard stories of the customer that purchase an expensive gown, wears it and then returns the garment. Was that customer right? What about those scammers that find a way to abuse the system…your system, are they right?
Does the customer is always right set the standard for customer service or open the door for abuse?
What do you think? Let’s hear from you on this subject. Please post your comment.
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I would say the customer is *usually* right. I have seen a few ill-mannered people become abusive with customer services providers. This is never OK. On the other hand poor service has become the status quo. This certainly isn't OK either.
ReplyDeleteThere need be solid standards on both sides for things to work. I have given up on complaining when service is poor. Now I go out of my way to give credit to good service providers. A quick comment or email to a manager goes a long way. :)
I think you are right about it being a two way street. On the other hand, I think that you can not just give in and accept poor service or poorly acting customers. When we don't speak up, we abdicate our rights.
ReplyDeleteAt Fry's Electronics, you have to give up your first born to complete the return process. Four people have to check it off before you get to the final step. Home Depot used to have a spectacular return policy on everything including plants that died with in a year. Through abuse for people returning cut Christmas trees that eventually died, and other items that are not supposed to live the whole year, people abused this great return policy as well. There has to be a middle ground that can make everyone happy and whole. Some people just have to wreck a good thing for everyone else in every facet of life.
ReplyDeleteHere is a comment from Bernard Pollack from his recent blog for American Express Open on the same topic.
ReplyDelete"The principle that the customer is always right can be a valuable one as it can guide you towards superior customer service choices for your effort and for your dollar as a business owner. However, “the customer is always right” is not an infallible principle. There are many times when the customer is not always right, simply because the customer doesn’t always have all of the information that you do."