'The Customer is Always Right'

[CuChullain]

I have seen the phrase “the customer is always right” trotted out a few times on these forums and I was wondering if some folk here honestly believe that is the case? Having worked for a number of restaurants, pubs and corporate catering companies throughout my uni years I came to the rapid conclusion that not only can customers be wrong but they can fucking rude to boot. Most service industry workers put up with a fair bit of crap as that is deemed as part of the job but I can’t see why they have to put up with outright bullying, rudeness and general obnoxious behaviour just because money is changing hands.

Like pp I have been shouted and sworn at, called names, had beer and a dyson thrown at me, been strangled(age 19 by upstanding member of community demanding to see manager).
I have worked in places where management have backed me ie I am not a bitch please leave now before I call the police, as well as thoses where they believe the customer is always right and will appease them.eg its ok for customers to talk on their phone whilst being
served, I think this is rude.
I know which employers I preferred to work for, even if the pay was slightly less.

Went on an adult cruise last year and it was mostly full of elderly people who were shockingly rude to the staff (who appear to work bloody hard for probably minimum wage!) I was actually embarrassed to be English on more than one occasion. The couple at the table next to ours at dinner (silver service - wonderful) demanded to see the chef/catering manager almost every night whilst muttering about 'being in catering' and 'standards', found out at the end of the holiday that the woman worked in a cake shop! Which made me laugh. So no, the customer is rarely right. I would complain politely if there was a genuine problem.

My friend, who was a barmaid at the time, was punched in the face by a footballer when she refused to serve his wife after last orders.

I detest that wildly misused phrase.

I really don't miss working in retail. People who work in any kind of customer service based job really get to see the general publics true colours.

There's an awful lot of utter wankers out and about.

The customer is sometimes right, often wrong, and frequently would benefit from a good hard slap.

I think its general attitude all over to be honest. Everyone is bleating on about their 'rights' and demands 'respect/respek' from every living soul on the planet.

Want to put your shitty shoes all over the train seat? Or eat filthy food that stinks the whole carriage out?

Let your kids run up and down a carriage/round and round a restaurant, yelling/screaming/fighting and make no attempt to distract them/quieten them?

Want to blast your music day and night?

Shoulder barge, then swear at a child in the (fairly empty) station because they are patiently waiting for their train in a huge station and just happen to be exaxctly where you want to walk?

Can't be arsed to oput on overshoes when you go poolside?

Want to 'bagsy' the only changing room with a baby changing table because your kids don't like using the group changing facility? So get there early, stake your claim and leave all your bags there until after the lessons?

Want to jump a queue?

Not stop your bus because you are late/cant be bothered?

Fart in a lift? Oh come on people!!!!

I had a go at a customer before Christmas. He was always very rude and other staff had refused to serve him. (One that sticks out is calling me 'unfeminine and unladylike' for serving him quickly when we had a queue.)

I was trying to help another customer who was getting a bit irate and the old soak decided to stick his nose in and start making nasty comments. I told him to STFU and he's been nice as pie ever since. Not proud of it and it's certainly out of character for me but on this occasion it worked.

You just need to channel your inner Rab C Newbit and yell 'oi you, git back in yer boax!'. I find it works well in many many circumstances.

It's not just retail. I work for a large multinational office based company. We used to work with colleagues - then one day it changed to 'internal customers'. Suddenly we had the 'customer is always right' attitude. How can we serve our (internal) customers better, what do they want from us, etc. What a pain in the arse. How about working together as colleagues!

YANBU

Yanbu.

I work in retail and get treated like shit on a daily basis.

It's my fault that customers can't return things they have worn and decided they don't like. It's my fault we're out of stock on the dress they've been looking at for two weeks and finally decided to buy. It's my fault that the fitting rooms are full and they have to sit down on our comfy chairs and wait a minute and it's my fault I can't give them a discount for no reason other than they want one.

I don't care. I smile, try to help and remind myself that their lack of manners is their problem, not mine and I'm only here because the hours fit around school. I will be going home soon to spend time with my children who I am raising to be nice, thoughtful and well mannered.

It still gets on my tits at times, though.

And it is so true that the more 'naice' the area the more entitled the customers are.

I once worked in a shop in a very very 'naice' town. We had just closed for the day and all the lights were off and we had our coats on about to leave the shop. A woman came striding up to the door, very pissed off because it was locked. The manager opened the door and she said that she needed to buy something. She was told that we were shut and she harrumphed that she should be allowed to buy it because it was only one thing and we were being unfair and she knew exactly what she wanted.

Two days later the woman came back. She announced that she wanted to buy the mirror ball that we had had in the window. We told her that we had sold the last one that morning and we wouldn't be getting any more in.
She stood there and stamped her feet and had a full on tantrum shouting, 'what am I meant to do now? I tried to buy it but you wouldn't let me'.

There are some proper knobheads around. I helped an elderly gent the other day as he asked a fellow customer to reach something for him and he refused as he didn't work there. "Ask one of these muppets..."

I think it's partly because most shops are now big chain stores. The shop manager doesn't want complaints heading to Head Office. The brand is everything. So the customer gets what they want and therefore can also be more demanding. And the customer sees it as a fight against the big corporation.
If it's a privately owned shop the owner/manager may be more interested in having a nice working environment and be more willing to tell people to sling their hook.

I worked in retail for a several years when I was younger and it never ceased to amaze just how rude some people can be. I agree that the posher the people were the ruder they were, and I also used to find that old people were foul whilst most teenagers were lovely and polite.

I believe it was the real Mr Selfridge who coined the phrase "the customers is always right", so if you want anyone to blame blame him. But it is bollocks in my experience.

I should also add that I once had the " don't you know who I am?" Line thrown at me by a man who was an ex lower league footballer turned local nightclub owner. He thought that this entitled him to special treatment, and he was renowned around town for this kind of behaviour. The depressing thing was that many shops and business really fawned over him like he was important and special.

Another vote for this happening in higher education too! I was heavily pregnant and fell over in the road and knocked myself out resulting in a trip to hospital and so had to cancel a seminar. One student emailed the same day complaining about the cancellation and reminding me his student fees paid my wages

I was tempted to inform him that he had taken a loan of taxpayers money to pay his tuition fees and so in fact I was paying for him to go to university and that every student was supplemented by the government and so I was paying twice. Then I was going to ask him not to use the student union, library, campus toilets, computers, heating as he was only paying for teaching.

JJXM I would have sent an email back to him saying exactly that. Entitled little wanker.

Have you read The Ask?