Is the customer always right?
When is a customer right and when are they wrong? That is a much more tricky question than it appears on the surface. For example, when is a confrontation necessary? The answer is never. If a customer has a legitimate complaint then of course they should say something, businesses expect that and it is an opportunity to please their guests, so in a way, a complaint is expected and inevitable, to a certain extent. What is not acceptable is for the customer to be demanding, insulting and irate. This is unfair to the cashier or customer service representative; that particular person is likely not responsible for the mistake. All that aside, the real issue is the lack of respect people today have for their fellow mankind. How does yelling and cussing at them fix the issue at hand? Could it be that people today just need a scape goat? What is it about some folks who just need to berate and insult others? There is a way to resolve many issues without rudeness, cursing, yelling or even lies. There have been manysituationswhere customers have proven that they are not alwaysright.
Consider the typical server or fast food worker, they are typically young and somewhat inexperienced individuals. Many times throughout the country people are ugly and hateful, assuming that the person standing in front of them is solely responsible for the problem. There is aprocessthat happens when an order is placed at any fast food restaurant. When the reality just may be that the person ordering was not clear and the person taking the order transmitted the directions they were given to the kitchen staff. Then the cook or cooks translated the information into the making of their order. Finally, there is generally an additional person or persons who handle the order to get it to the customer. With so many hands handling the order it increases the likelihood that a mistake can happen. This is not a deliberate mistake aimed at a particular customer out of spite, it is humanity.
Many, many people try toscamothers especially of they operate a cash register. This has led to a plethora of policies that employees must follow when a customer complains, especially should it involve incorrect change. Typically, the cashier cannot simply give the customer the money, they must have a manager count the drawer to see if it is correct, over or under. So being mature in complaining is respecting the rules and the rule following employee. However, when it comes to peoples food and money people tend to become irate if not hysterical when an issue arises. To the employee who cannot escape the situation it is grossly disrespectful and at times frightening.
In today's world, making a perfectly human mistake is an unforgivable sin to some. Perhaps it is time for people to calm down and understand that humans are fallible and errors happen. In America people seem to have lost the general respect for each other which had led to an increase in such incidents. Perhaps, in time, the respect for our fellow man will return and these situations will decrease. So, if you must complain, remember, there are many, many rules in place, due to the fraudulent efforts of a few crooks, and the employee may not be refusing your immediate demands due to their ability to follow the rules. So respect is again the remedy; respect for the rules and for your fellow man.
