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The Customer May NOT Always
Be Right . So What!
By Sam Knight (c) 2002
boomer4ever1@juno.com 
The phrase "The Customer Is Always Right" was pounded into the heads of workers for years. Many, if not most, believed it and behaved as such.  It became their motto, their creed, their daily mantra.
Recent years has produced people with a more independent way of thinking.  Education through many sources, coupled with generational differences, is likely responsible for the development of a 'new-age' thought process. 
 
Not only don't many no longer think this way, they are not very interested in hearing why it came to be in the first place.
Okay, it's hard to educate people and then force them into a conformist way of thinking.  It's the old 'how ya gonna keep 'em down on the farm after they've seen Paree' routine.
 
Well, guess what 'new-age' guys?  The phrase still works.
 
We already know many people today are rushed, which means they are feeling stressed and pressured.  It also means they can be rude, condescending and sometimes downright horrible in their behavior.
Fortunately, most people though rushed and/or stressed out, are not horrible and can be dealt with amicably.
Dealing with the public, whether out there in the real world or right here in our cyber world, is not easy.  It can be very aggravating dealing with the demands of various and sundry personalities, as you cope with (and try to figure out) what it is that set them off in the first place.
Your ego can be bruised, your sense of worth can feel  slightly diminished and your attitude is working overtime to
keep your desire to be "pleasant" at an acceptable level. No question, you want to lash out and strike back.
 
You can't. The bottom line is that so long as the customer has the money to pay for whatever it is you want to sell, it is
incumbent upon you to keep 'working it'.
Anyone dealing with the public is going to run into that one person who needs to be told off.  Don't do it.  Find a way to steer them in another direction.  There are some things that are not worth some people's money.
If they are cursing you out, who needs it?  If they are threatening you, let them go.  If they are acting like they left their medication at home, tell them about the sale going on at another store.
 
Some things are just plain common sense.
Don't get mad at me and say, "Hey, why are you telling people to patronize my competitor?"  I'm not.  Read the above.  I said that MOST people are not horrible.  The truth is MOST people can be turned around to where you want them.
 
Yes, you CAN make lemonade out of a very lemony situation.  I've done it countless times myself.  If you keep in mind that the customer is always right you will find a reason to try to get through even a difficult transaction. 
 
What have I discovered?  That most people just want to be heard, listened to, maybe even sympathized with. 
It could very well be that the lady who is looking like she wants to chop your head off, asking a million questions and hurrying you along in a rudish kind of way was just cut off in the parking lot by an inconsiderate driver. 
 
Or, perhaps she kept getting arbitrarily cut off from the Internet.  Of course her attitude is shaky, at best, at the moment.  We can relate to that, can't we?
It could be that the guy who seems to second-guess everything you say was just downsized or given a crummy raise or today was his annual review and he is feeling cheated and annoyed.
Maybe he just upgraded his Internet service and feels like he should have been given it for free because he's such a
good user.
He's ready to challenge everyone up to and including the ice-cream man!  Come on, don't most of us know what it is
to be on the receiving end of a review we don't agree with?
Relate to people.  It's not hard.  Do you know how many times I've sensed a "bad one" coming and started the
conversation off with, "Have you ever had one of those days...."  
 
If they just had one, right away there's a sense of camaraderie and a feeling that they aren't so isolated.  They may still be feeling rotten but they are feeling less ALONE and that makes a huge difference in their actions.
If you are going to be in the business of selling and interacting with people you must take the high road.  Get rid of your ego. If you want or need to feel competitive go home and start up a game of Scrabble or Trivial Pursuit.
If the need to be the winner is that strong, make sure you play the game with people under the age of five and then
start thinking about a career change.
 
Customers are not there to stroke you.  You are there to stroke them!  It's the name of the game and the only way to
win it is to put yourself second for the time being.Be honest and face reality.  When you come to terms with the fact that they are your bread and butter, and keep that in mind, you'll see how fast you are willing to adopt that old but still very important phrase, The Customer Is Always Right.
 

Sam Knight is author of the motivational new E-Book "My Chicken Soup For The Net" (c) written for those of us with
dreams & a fierce determination to achieve them. She is also editor/publisher of "BOOMER BRIGADE!" Newsletter and heads her own ad writing service http://www.boomer4ever.com