Is Your Customer Always (or Just Sometimes) Right?

When in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve
the political bonds which have connected them with another-----”

This Declaration of Independence applies to employers, clients and customers as
well. When you’ve had enough of a tyrannical boss, a recalcitrant client, or a
thieving customer, it is your right and duty to say, “I’ve had enough. YOU’RE
FIRED!”

Who ever said “The Customer is Always Right” was a fawning, sycophantic wimp.
I was with an ad agency that had a big profitable account where the ad manager
was a moral deviant. He delighted in making us miserable. I talked with our
president, who wrote this on his pad as he was making the decision:
As I sat lone and musing, a friend came up and said,
Cheer up, things could be worse.
So I cheered up, and sure enough,
Things got worse.

So he got the account group together and said, “He who angers you controls you.”
He made the hard but joyous call and severed the relationship. We replaced that
account very soon with a better one.

I was the head of customer service at Target Stores. They are very kind to their
customers, meeting them more than half way on their problems. The benefit of the
doubt is theirs.

But Target is not a jerk. While we took back almost everything, we drew a line; we
recognized the repeaters and told them politely that they would be happier not
shopping here any more. (“Try Kmart---”) I saw a lot of sweat-stained garments
that “were never worn.” My favorite was the “unused” crock pot that began to reek
from the chicken inside.

Small firms can be devastated by the loss of any client, so it’s understandable that
they endure untold miseries. But it’s a quantum leap when they first stand up and say,“No more. There is some crap I will not eat.” So, bite the bullet and get rid of the problem.

Freedom comes next, and more business.