The Customer Is NOT Always Right!

There – I said it. Saying something like that in these economic times might just get you a bullet in the head from any steely-eyed executive. Saying anything except, “The customer is always right,” is almost like declaring you are a terrorist in the U.S. these days.

Not every customer is good for you though.

I’ve been through many different phases in a business: from my father’s startup (which grew from 3 to 9 people in 1 year), joining the military, hiring onto a publicly traded, global company, opting to work for a privately held organization, and living through an acquisition; I’ve seen my share of culture in my few short years in business.

In a small company, you had to have your customer because you needed to eat. There were very few jobs you could walk away from. Sucking it up was sometimes gutsy and sometimes just plain ignorant. Ask my dad how many stubbed toes we had!

In the military, it was all about the mission, and oddly enough there wasn’t much difference in working for a foodservice manufacturer. It was very odd being so far-removed from the customer. In fact, I often wondered if, like the military, my customer was on my kill list.

Coming of Age:

There comes a time, however, when a company reaches a point where it understands who it is and what it offers. It realizes it cannot be everything to everyone or it will simply become the next watered-down knockoff.

Look at the struggles that K-Mart has had. No one can argue with Wal-Mart’s success, and Target, well, targeted a much different audience. Target, for instance, would not sell firearms, and does not. This is neither good nor bad, it simply is a decision made by their management team. K-Mart seemed to try and emulate both and ended up not being able to compete with either.

However, those companies that understand who and what they are, can make crisp decisions that quickly move the company from one point to another desired stop in the trip to their final destination.

Fire a Customer?

A recent acquaintance of mine, Doug Johnson of Red Sage Consulting, mentioned that he felt a company had reach a new level of maturation when it could “fire customers”. What an interesting idea… The most successful people I have met have said this very thing to me.

Do what?

When customers don’t line up with who and what your company stands for, people often scramble and try to mold their companies into what the customer thinks they want (notice I did not say “wants”, but “thinks they want”). In this case, it is not wrong to inform a customer that there is not a good fit.

To be in business, you need to be an expert or the best at what you do. Why else would someone buy from you? Because you are the cheapest? Sure, Wal-Mart runs that game, and does an excellent job at giving their shoppers the lowest price around; they are the best at it!

You, what are you good at?

If you are so good, then why would you compromise what you do for someone who doesn’t understand what you offer?

Grab the pitchforks!

But before you stoke the fires and get out the pitchforks, you have to understand who and what you are as a company. You can’t risk a mistake in this area. Be sure you are grounded and true to what made you the best, and be passionate about that.

If you show that you are passionate about what you do, are laser-focused on who you are, and act with an attitude of service to your clients… then you will see that the “customer” is NOT always right – and not always right for you!

Ken Stewart’s blog, ChangeForge.com, focuses on the collision between the constantly changing worlds of business and technology. To learn more about Ken, visit his about page. You may also find Ken on FriendFeed, Twitter, and LinkedIn.