Dealing With Idiot Customers
The Customer Is Always Right
— Marshall Field
When I was about 9-years old I got a paper route. I had fought long and hard to get that paper route and the night before I started my first day on the job, my father sat me down for a man-to-man talk about the business world of which I was about to step into. That talk was probably no more than 15 minutes long but I remember that it seemed like forever – and was mostly a lot of blahh blahh blahh blahhh – you know, like the teachers in The Peanuts cartoons. But the ONE thing that he emphasized, and the ONE thing that I remember from that talk was: The customer is always right
I didn’t understand the concept at first, and I came up with all sorts of scenarios and arguments with my father in which the customer would clearly be wrong, but no matter what, his response to me was still “the customer is always right”.
I suppose that conversation had quite an impact on me because all throughout my adult life I have always lived by that rule – and now that I run a website I apply that “golden rule” of business when dealing with all of our members and particularly our paying, Premium members/customers. Virtually every complaint or credit-card chargeback we’ve ever gotten were due to the customer not reading the instructions or somehow doing something wrong – not once can I recall a time that we made a mistake. BUT, the customer is always right, and I’ve always bent-over-backwards to make it right – and most importantly, make the customer happy even if it meant money out of my pocket (and it has, many times).
The internet however, much like the real world, is full of idiots, thieves, and liars – and we have had our share of them at the website. So how do I deal with the idiots that don’t read the premium membership agreement (and the part in BIG BOLD LETTERS)? Or the liars that just flat-out lie and try to get a credit-card charge-back? As my father taught me, I give them the benefit of the doubt, swallow my pride and give them their refund (or whatever it is they are asking for). I’ve done this dozens, if not hundreds of times and it has made for many happy customers/members.
Until today..
Today we were visited by a very special kind of Idiot.. The kind of idiot that totally ignores the agreement that he agreed to when purchasing his membership. The special sort of idiot that blames the website because he ignored the email notice that we sent him to let him know about a limited time offer/content that he was entitled to – then waited too long and missed out. The certain breed of idiot that posts all over the forum that WE ripped him off because he needed that membership fee money – that he sent us, to pay his rent.. That lower-class of idiot that then proceeds to bash the website, cuss us all out, and call us thieves. (luckily I was online at the time and was able to delete most of his posts fast enough that nobody saw them..i think)
So it was with mixed emotions of both joy and sorrow that I finally decided that some customers just are NOT right, and with 32 years of pent-up customer induced frustration I finally said fuck you, you are WRONG! Here’s you’re damn rent-money back, and by the way, you are too stupid to come back to our website so you’re banned – don’t come back!
Of course, I didn’t use those exact words because after all, I am still a professional – but I think he’ll get the point if he is actually smart enough to read the notice that I sent along with his refund. Maybe I went a little overboard.. Maybe I just snapped.. But you know what? It felt good in a dirty, shameful way..
So let this be another little pearl of wisdom from Randy Brown: “The customer is always right, unless he’s an idiot..” …
Dad.. I hope you don’t read my blog.
Haha! Oh man, now I don’t personally deal with customers (yet) but I can definitely see where you are coming from. There are just those kinds of people that can’t seem to read or follow directions and when something doesn’t work out because of their ignorance they go name calling and stir things up.
I think you were right in what you did, you can’t always make everybody happy….if you did you would only be screwing yourself over. There are far too many people in this world that are looking for somebody to take advantage of.
I used to get that “The customer is always right” manifesto all the time but here in the year 2000’s I just don’t think you can work that way any more and quite frankly, I don’t believe in it.
i use that manifesto on my first client and i ended up with 4days work extended to a full month
now i dont believed it anymore
There are two that I live by…
1. The customer/client is always right.
2. Never be afraid to fire a customer/client if he/she is “right” too often.
Dennis Edell said:
I’m gunna write that one down..
haha,
ya I agree client is always right until he is too dumb to read.
When we offer basic items/service and charge minimum price in our quotation, client always expect to get more than that.
i donn’t believe if we accept all complain makes our business grow, there’s some different between service to custhomer and affraid losing one customer.
anyway thx for this post, must googling to find it.
I try to be really flexible and accomidating to my customers and I usually feel pretty good about it. I draw the line when giving them what they ask for (and don’t rightly deserve) would leave me feeling abused. Sometimes it is better to lose a customer.
I think that’s the point right there (@Sectional Slipcovers)… the saying should maybe be modified to “the customer is always right IF you want to keep them as a customer.” There are of course those who don’t deserve to be customers and it’s definitely an art to eject such in a way that their flailings don’t do you any harm. I think you did well Randy.
Yes the customer is always right – if you still want them as a customer.
If you don’t want them as they cost/take up too much time/ stop you providing service to other paying customers etc, then get rid of them!
Unfortunately, it is the vocal minority that take up all the time and effort, yet probably still complain anyway! (pareto principle).
I managed a service area for an home products company and the customer expectations were sometimes completely unreasonable – occasionally we just walked and said we did not want to do business with them! and went and focussed on delighting our customers that didn’t have complaints.
With the referrals from the delighted customers we more than made up for the bad ones.
PS Do it professionally though, we had one ‘bad’ customer (who we fired) come back and apologize after working with 3 other companies because we were the best he had dealt with – we charged him extra to work with him again and he agreed!
It looks like you still followed the customer is always right mantra. You did the right thing, and I agree with you assessment. Definitely sounds like a idiot.
hey Randy,
This post rocks. I too try to live by the saying “the customer is always right”, but I really like your modified version. Some customers are best “given” to the competition down the street.
~ Steve, aka the trade show guru