Is the customer always right? This is an age old burning question in everyone’s mind who works customer service, especially the hotel industry. 

So where exactly did this famous and controversial phrase come from? The famous phrase we always hear was coined back in 1909 by a London department store founder who wanted to assure customers that they would get good service at his store. It’s been used a lot since then, having endured exactly 110 years.

I personally have a lot of experience in hearing this painful saying during my time in both the restaurant and hotel industry. When I worked in the restaurant industry, this was my least favorite saying and is something we’d always joke about on break in the break room. 

For all you strong supporters of this saying, I hate to bust your bubble, the customer isn’t always right! Sometimes the customer is the one who makes the mistake and tries to blame the restaurant or hotel. Let’s take a look at real world examples based upon my experiences. 

Case Study #1:

Jimmy orders an extra large pizza, with pepperoni, ham, sausage and bacon. Jimmy wants light sauce and extra cheese but forgets to ask for it. The order taker reads back the order and Jimmy confirms it. 30 minutes later, Jimmy gets the pizza and complains it is not what he ordered since there is no light sauce or extra cheese. Jimmy then tries to blame the restaurant for the mistake even though he made it. 

Is Jimmy, the customer, right? NO! 

Despite Jimmy thinking he didn’t make a mistake, the restaurant only made exactly what he ordered. 

Case Study #2:

Susan books a 3 night hotel reservation for the Sunset Inn. What Susan doesn’t realize, there are two Sunset Inn locations in the town she is coming to vacation in. Susan books the farther away location on the opposite end of town instead of the location closer to the beach. Susan comes into the location closer to the beach not realizing she is at the wrong hotel. She begins to get argumentative with the front desk when they tell her that she booked the wrong location and direct her how to get there. Susan then gets even more irate after the front desk tells her they are sold out and can not modify her reservation since she didn’t make it there. Furthermore Susan begins to blame the desk and say they screwed up.

Is Susan, the customer, right? NO!

Susan is one hundred percent at fault here as she didn’t double check her reservation and just skipped past the confirmation screen before fully booking the reservation.

My Honest Thoughts:

Honestly I understand the rationale behind is to ensure customers and guests that they will get the best service possible and is a marketing tactic. However, like I mentioned above, sometimes they aren’t always right. Sometimes it’s the guests that make the mistake and not us service professionals.

Mistakes aside, let’s be real here for a second. The customer can’t be right if the request is not realistic or possible. Not every customer request or complaint may align with the business’s capabilities or policies. Customers may sometimes have unrealistic expectations or misunderstandings. In such cases, businesses need to manage expectations effectively while aiming to provide a satisfactory resolution.

Businesses operate within certain guidelines, policies, and operational constraints. These are designed to ensure efficiency, fairness, and adherence to legal and ethical standards. Sometimes, meeting a customer’s request may conflict with these policies. In such situations, businesses must find a balance that respects both the customer’s needs and the organization’s standards.

Additionally, we can not forget those who love to abuse the system and manipulate it to their advantage. This phrase can create a culture of negative customer entitlement and a “Karen” culture. Instances where customers verbally abuse service staff or make demands that compromise ethical standards illustrate the dangers of blindly adhering to this god awful phrase. For example, in the hospitality industry, a guest insisting on discriminatory treatment towards staff based on race or gender cannot be justified under any circumstances, despite the belief that “the customer is always right.”

The customer entitlement that comes with the phrase not only leads to poor treatment of employees, it also increases job stress and burnout. This ultimately leads to high turnover which is the worst thing the hospitality industry faces.

Now, I know what you are thinking. If the customer isn’t right what do I do to resolve the issue at hand? Here’s the key, you want to make the customer think they are right even though they may not be. Even though they made the mistake or are totally wrong, you can not argue or dismiss the situation entirely. This is something I have come to learn in time and is extremely useful for the situations listed above.

So how can one make the customer feel like they are right? Let’s take a look back at our earlier case studies as examples.

In our first case study with Jimmy, despite the mistake being his fault, all you could do is apologize, and address the situation head on by offering a remake, discount on the next order or offer a free side or dessert of Jimmy’s choice next time he orders. By doing this, we shift the blame a little bit. We make Jimmy think it was our fault when in fact it was not and this allows us to hopefully make Jimmy satisfied and a returning customer.

In our second case study with Susan, all we can do is offer to help her here. If there was availability at the hotel, the best solution would have been to make her a new reservation and help her cancel the other one. Since there is no availability, there is not much we can do. All we can do is assist her with getting to the other location or if our company has other brands or affiliated properties in the area, we can always help her find a reservation at one of those hotels. By doing this, we are showing Susan that even if this is not our problem, we still care and are willing to do something and not leave her to her own devices.

Final Thoughts:

“The customer is always right” encapsulates the importance of prioritizing customer satisfaction and service excellence. However, it should not be interpreted rigidly. Successful businesses understand the complexities involved in customer interactions and strive to navigate them with empathy, integrity, and a commitment to maintaining their operational standards and values. This balanced approach ensures that both customers and businesses benefit from positive, sustainable relationships over the long term.

I’ll leave you with this final thought: Sometimes no matter what you do, or how hard you try, you never can make everyone happy. In scenarios like that, it is crucial to do your very best, go above and beyond, and never lose your cool. If you lose your cool, that only makes things worse for you and the situation at hand.

What are your thoughts on the phrase “the customer is always right”? Do you agree with our thoughts and analysis? Let us know down in the comments section below, and as always, if you are enjoying our content, be sure to subscribe to never miss a single post.