Everyone has heard of, and I am sure has even repeated a few times, “The Customer is Always Right.” This phrase originated in the early 1900s from Harry Gordon Selfridge. He was a successful businessman with a chain of retail department stores in England. He prided himself on making the customer happy at all costs. Working in customer service for over 10 years has taught me more than I could’ve imagined. The fundamental belief behind the customer being right is still true but it needs to be slightly modified. Let me tell you why.

I train customer service representatives (CSRs) each day to go above and beyond the call of duty for customers. It is my belief that customers should feel as though the person they spoke with really cared about their issue. Customers deserve to be listened to and have their opinions valued. Even when their demands are unattainable, CSRs should still strive hard to please the customers because customers are the lifeline of any successful business. However, what about the employees? Are they not important and vital to the success of the business?

I believe that customer service is best delivered when employees feel that they are also heard. In my call center experiences, my first response to customer complaints or accusations is to review the actual recording of the call. Most customers are able to recall exactly what happened on their calls down to the time of the call, but what about those customers who do not report their experience accurately? It would be unfair if I only listened to the customer and then scolded the employee. In such cases, listening only to the customer could lead to the employee delivering less than satisfactory customer service on future calls. Customer service can be a tough job, and employees deserve to have their side of the story heard and a fair determination made.

Customer complaints, whether valid or not, are always used as tools for improvement. As a customer service manager, countless hours are spent reviewing surveys that we send to every customer who calls in, and calling back some customers to get more information. This is done to improve the customer experience as well as train and educate the staff on the customers’ needs and wants. I believe that the phrase “the customer is always right” doesn’t always prove to be 100 percent true, but it’s about “finding the balance” that makes for an effective approach to managing employees.