Is the Customer Always Right?

I am often asked whether I think the customer is always right.

They are and they are also often wrong!

Customers buy because they have a problem or want to avoid having a problem. They are always right about their problem. They know they have one and they know what it is. Admittedly, they may, or could have, other problems they don't know about but they do have at least one problem they know about or they wouldn't be in the marketplace.

What customers are often wrong about is the solution to their problem. They don't understand your business as well as you do and so they may, and often do, come in and ask for the wrong solution. They don't know what other solutions are available and the pros and cons of each.

Our job is to look past the customer's request for a particular solution and ask questions to understand the problem they are trying to solve. Then we can affirm their request or suggest a better alternative.

If we don't ask questions, we are just order-takers.