"The customer is always right". We've all heard this trope time and time again. Many times, leaders will fall back on this falsehood in hopes of providing a better customer experience. Often times, it creates a more difficult, and sometimes hostile environment for our teams.
I'll pose this question, what if a customer was verbally abusive to your employee?
What if a customer made a derogatory remark directed at your employee?
What of the customer wanted a discount not otherwise offered?
We want to retain our customer... But at what expense? At the expense of our teams? At the expense of our margins? At what point do we decide to fire a customer? Sometimes, you can show the customer why they're wrong, whether it be explaining why your price is what it is, or sticking up for your team. We all have to make decisions from time to time on what kind of customers we want to attract. I've never wanted to attract difficult, or abusive customers. It has always been my goal, and I've stayed so clearly many times....
We will always be honest and ethical in making recommendations to our customers.
We will always do what's fair to the customer AND fair to the business
We will always ensure that everyone is treated respectfully and professionally (customer and employees alike).
I hold my customers equally responsible, especially so in the last respect. If they can't abide by basic decency, we don't want them as a customer as it creates a liability, and often times it doesn't matter what you do, they will always have an issue. I'll cover a couple of my favorite examples of this below.
In one of my previous careers, I had a young employee. She was extremely intelligent, and was picking up on the job quickly. She was motivated, engaged, and had lots of potential. One day she came back to the office and exasperated said "the customer up front wants a MAN because my 'pretty little face won't know the answer to his questions'. Do you want to deal with him"?
I went up front while she stayed at the register, listening. I introduced myself as the GM and told him I understood he had some questions and i'd help as best I could. As I listened, I quickly established that my new employer wouldn't know the answer (not because she was a woman, but because she was new... Otherwise I'd have deferred to her for judgement). As he finished asking his questions (about batteries for an RV) I gave him my biggest smile and simply said "Well sir, my pretty little face doesn't know a whole lot about RV batteries, but in my experience..." And I answered his questions to the best of my ability. In that moment, it was clear to my customer that his remark was not appropriate, and out of turn. It also was clear to my employee that I would back her, and not tolerate that level of disrespect. In his following visits, we never had another issue and he worked well with my new team member, and trusted her feedback around his issues. My team member knew that I would back her, and she continued to stay engaged and was an outstanding performer who continued to excel.
Had I just ignored this abuse, or made it clear that she was to accept that, would she have stuck around? Would she have continued with the same engagement levels? Maybe.... But more than likely I'd be seen as the manager that "doesn't have their team member's back".
Another instance was with a commercial customer. This particular customer had a track record of being difficult. In an attempt to salvage the relationship, I told my team I would help him when he came is as to ensure they wouldn't be subjected to his abuse. Additionally, I seemed to have a better ability to help the customer, as he never pushed quite as hard towards me (I can only assume it was due to my position in the store). The proverbial straw that broke the camels back was when I watched an interaction with one of my team members. As I was headed back up front with an order I was pulling, I observed this customer point to my team member and snap his fingers while saying "You... Get over here". This customer then proceeded to berate my team member about a display in the store. As I came through the door, I simply stated
"Sir, you need to leave the store. We don't treat customers in that manner, and I won't tolerate anyone verbally abusing, or treating my team in that manner. You need to find another business as we will no longer be servicing your account".
He asked about making his purchase (the order I just pulled) and I told him I would not be completing the sale, nor providing any further service, and he needed to leave. After the typical "Im going to have your job" along with some profanities... He left. I then followed up with my team member stating that I have a 0 tolerance policy towards anyone abusing them, and they 100% reserve the right to refuse service, and I will 100% back them.
The customer did call corporate, and I did explain the situation to my boss, who backed my judgement. We no longer serviced that account. Our business was fine, we continued to grow, and continued to build a wonderful reputation in the community for our level of service, and product quality. Did we get a bad review? Absolutely. It was however, dwarfed my the countless 5 star reviews calling out our professionalism, expertise, care, compassion, kindness, and the list goes on. There are some customers you just don't want. Know how to identify them, and be brave enough to let them go.... Especially for the well being of your team.
The employee who this customer berated, went on to become my AGM, and was one of my biggest assets, and contributors to the business. We went on to become good friends, long after we both left the company.
There are a couple takeaways from these experiences. I built a culture where employees felt safe, and looked after. They knew I would not tolerate anyone abusing them (I often joked with my team that "nobody abused my team except me"). They knew that I had their back, and would advocate for them, nor would I put them in a position where they would be treated poorly. This bred loyalty and was a large contributor to why my turnover was always so low. It also was part of the reason why my employees were always so engaged, and desired growth. They willingly stepped up to cover shifts, come in when needed, stay late, and the list goes on. Having a leader that empowers, encourages, and protects their team drives a culture of excellence that extends into all of our interactions, growing success, retention, and revenue. The second takeaway, was that this ideal was shared with MY manager, who when faced with a choice of backing the customer at the expense of his team... Chose his team. He trusted my judgement. This led to higher performance and trust across the organization. Not only did I know my manager was looking out for me, this extended across all the other locations he managed.
Look out for your teams, and they'll look out for not only you, but also your customers. A team built on trust, safety, and compassion is key to high performance and retention. Studies have shown replacing an employee may cost between 1 and 3x their annual salary depending on skill level. When your team feels safe, and looked out for, it will lead to an increased customer experience, and increased revenues.
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