Never Be Rude To A Customer

By

George M. Saade

It is inconceivable to me that anyone would ever consider mistreating a customer. The customer is the most important person in any firm, no exceptions. That simple sentence is so obvious it needs no elaboration. ...Right? Wrong! Why would a salesperson, waiter, service person, etc. not treat a customer like they were the best people on earth? I don't know.

Because they are the best people on earth...as far as you are concerned. If it were not for the customer you would not even be there. Many corporations will spend millions of dollars getting the customer into the store, only to be mistreated by an employee. There are many ways to mistreat a customer, probably the more common are inattention, apathy, a smart aleck response to a question, bad attitude, a cold personality, etc.

Why do you think the customer has to buy from you, when you display absolutely no appreciation for his or her business? They don't and won't. Remember the customer is contributing to your welfare not the reverse. They could patronize another store and will if you don't treat the customer with respect. A customer will forgive an unknowable clerk a lot sooner than a rude clerk, although there is no excuse for either. Recently, a large national retailer in an advertising campaign announced that they are treating their customers better. How the h--- were they treating them previously?

Obviously, another large retailer would not be in a financial trouble if they had treated their customers better and trained the employees to use common sense. Never, lie to a customer. Sooner or later they will determine the truth and you will forever be branded a liar. You should not lie even if the customer would never know that you lied. My philosophy has always been "to treat everyone the way I would want to be treated." That goes for everybody, not just customers or potential customers. If you encompass those eleven words it would not be necessary to memorize a thick "Employee Handbook" on how to treat a customer. Never argue with a customer. You cannot win. Period.

Even when the customer is 100% wrong and is very rude you can't call them a liar. If you do you will not only lose the person as a customer you will will probably never have any of his or her friends, relatives, etc. as customers because you can be certain they will only have negative things to say about you and your store. Conversely, if you bend over backwards to solve the problem in their favor, they will tell everybody how fair you are and will recommend your store.

You may even lose money, this time, but the customer definitely return. I am never offended when a customer, usually someone I don't know, does not believe me when describing a product's features. As we all know, many, many, people will lie to make a sale. I try not to make a statement that I cannot validate. and actually am delighted to provide proof on anything stated. Two words, if not used often will spell disaster for anyone in business.

The words cannot be over used only under used. Many firms have failed due to infrequent use. Jay Leno tells a joke about the two words, which is true, according to him. It seems he was grocery shopping and having paid the cashier, whom he describes as being "grumpy" approximately $50.00 for the groceries he scolded the cashier for not using the two words. Her retort was "Sir, the two words are on the receipt." He glanced at the receipt and said she was correct, the words were on the receipt.

While the two words are printed on most receipts they will never have the impact as when sincerely spoken. I don't ever recall not using the words on a customer. The usage of the two words cannot be over emphasized...... Thank you.