The customer is always right.
They love to throw that one at you, don’t they.
You might be signed off on all your training after sitting through countless videos and workshops, but surely you must be in the wrong. The customer is always right. Right?
Wrong!
You don’t have to honour the price on a mislabeled product.
Any price tag is simply an ‘invitation to treat’ and not a legally binding contract. The seller is actually inviting you to make an offer which is then accepted or refused at the till. This actually works in the customer’s favour too. If they decide at the till that the big chicken won’t fit in the freezer, they can leave it behind, same as a shop keeper can withdraw an item from sale.
(Incidentally isn’t it strange that the edge of that mislabeled product is all worn and ruckled. Almost as if someone peeled it off one item and stuck it on another, but that couldn’t be true. No one would try and get a 20 year old scotch for a fiver by swapping a price, because that would be fraud, and a not very nice thing to do, especially in front of the kids.)
The customer is not right that it’s ‘any old excuse’ that the reason they can’t get 0% fat greek yoghurt is because the lorry is stuck on the M25 .
It’s true! You even took the phone call. Make do with the 5% one and be on your way.
The customer is not right that you have to take cash.
The concept of legal tender actually relates to the settling of debts. Any business is free to create their own payment policies. This is why gift vouchers work. Your local barista is under no more obligation to take a £20 note than they are a John Lewis voucher. Tap your chip and pin and drink your latte.
The customer is not right that there must be more carrier bags somewhere.
Because the manager forgot to order them before going on holiday and now they’ve all run out and everyone else is having to apologise and look like a bunch of idiots. It happened last year too. And he was reminded.
The customer is not right that there must be someone else who can help serve.
Nope. This is it. And everyone who is here is doing three people’s jobs as it is. There are a lot of vacancies. We could get you an application form if you think you can help? No, didn’t think so.
The customer is always right? The customer doesn’t even understand the quote!
The Customer is Always Right*: *This quotation is commonly cited in an abbreviated form. In full it reads: ‘the customer is always right, in matters of taste.’ In other words, good service means letting your customer buy the jacket that makes them look ridiculous or the jeans that clearly don't fit, if that's what they want. It does not mean they are an expert in pricing, stock control, logistics, merchandising planograms, company policy vs retail law, or that they know with absolute certainty that there must be 'one out back.'