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Q for OT business owners and those working with the general public in retail/restaurants?

Posted on 1/7/18 at 9:46 am
Posted by Will Cover
St. Louis, MO
Member since Mar 2007
38511 posts
Posted on 1/7/18 at 9:46 am
The Golden Rule

1. The customer is always right.
2. If by chance the customer makes a mistake, refer to rule number 1.

This is in an Employee Handbook that I am reading through. Do you or does your company subscribe to this? I realize there may be special circumstances at play at different times, but is this part of your company's core philosophy with regard to its customers? Is this talked about a majority of the time in team huddles or made a focus?

Lastly, for a bonus point, name the company of the Employee Handbook I am reading.

Edited to add (as I am reading through the handbook):

Customers are the most important people in any business.
• Customers are not dependent on us; we are dependent on them.
• Customers are not an interruption of our work; they are the purpose of
it.
• Customers do us a favor when they come in; we aren’t doing them a
favor by waiting on them.
• Customers are part of our business – not outsiders.
• Customers are not just money in the cash register; they are human
beings with feelings, like our own.
• Customers are people who come to us with their needs and wants, and
it is our job to fill those needs and wants.
• Customers deserve the most courteous attention we can give them.
They are the lifeblood of this and every business, and they pay your
salary. Without them, we would have to close our doors.

This post was edited on 1/7/18 at 9:58 am
Posted by biglego
Ask your mom where I been
Member since Nov 2007
76170 posts
Posted on 1/7/18 at 9:47 am to
Starbucks
Posted by thelawnwranglers
Member since Sep 2007
38738 posts
Posted on 1/7/18 at 9:47 am to
Not a business owner but customer opinion is always respected seems better
Posted by FightinTigersDammit
Louisiana North
Member since Mar 2006
34581 posts
Posted on 1/7/18 at 9:48 am to
The customer is often an illiterate retard who wants something for nothing.
Posted by crtodd
Member since Nov 2005
1723 posts
Posted on 1/7/18 at 9:48 am to
No, they don't. But we have to make them understand without pissing them off.

Chick-fil-a
Posted by S
RIP Wayde
Member since Jan 2007
155364 posts
Posted on 1/7/18 at 9:49 am to
“What can we do to make this right?”
Posted by Will Cover
St. Louis, MO
Member since Mar 2007
38511 posts
Posted on 1/7/18 at 9:51 am to
Wrong on first two guesses. But I could certainly see Starbucks and Chick-fil-A subscribing to this philosophy.
Posted by Muthsera
Member since Jun 2017
7319 posts
Posted on 1/7/18 at 9:51 am to
We fall more on the side of "Give the customer an inch, and they will demand a mile".

If you provide great service and give no quarter to the cheapskates, liars, and assorted riff raff, your gross margin will speak for itself.
Posted by Mingo Was His NameO
Brooklyn
Member since Mar 2016
25455 posts
Posted on 1/7/18 at 9:52 am to
Depends, if they are ones to go bitch on social media over $5, then yes they are right and you give them their way because the negative reviews are worth way more than the $5. In the other hand, professional firms fire clients all the time.

If you are competant, you can figure out which battles to take on and which ones to sit out.
Posted by crtodd
Member since Nov 2005
1723 posts
Posted on 1/7/18 at 9:53 am to
Amazon?
Posted by ElectricWizard0
Member since Jul 2017
2702 posts
Posted on 1/7/18 at 9:53 am to
The customer is actually both wrong, and an a-hole in most cases. You would be surprised how dumb the general public is
Posted by potent357
Prairieville
Member since Jan 2010
4029 posts
Posted on 1/7/18 at 9:54 am to
The customer is always right us only relevant if you want to keep them as a customer. If they are demanding pricks, and are totally wrong or ridiculous, then no, they are not right and good riddance.

Amazon?
Posted by Barrister
Member since Jul 2012
4606 posts
Posted on 1/7/18 at 9:54 am to
This is a business model that causes frustration and job dissatisfaction. A more productive model is, “The customer may not always be right, but they are still the customer.”
Posted by Will Cover
St. Louis, MO
Member since Mar 2007
38511 posts
Posted on 1/7/18 at 9:55 am to
quote:

Amazon?


Nope.

I'll reveal the answer shortly.

Hint. We don't have them in Louisiana, but Texas does. And the Left Coast has plenty.

I personally think they're overrated for the product they serve, but their customer service is great.
Posted by biglego
Ask your mom where I been
Member since Nov 2007
76170 posts
Posted on 1/7/18 at 9:57 am to
Buccees
Posted by JetsetNuggs
Member since Jun 2014
13879 posts
Posted on 1/7/18 at 9:57 am to
Posted by Mingo Was His NameO
Brooklyn
Member since Mar 2016
25455 posts
Posted on 1/7/18 at 9:57 am to
quote:

Hint. We don't have them in Louisiana, but Texas does. And the Left Coast has plenty.

I personally think they're overrated for the product they serve, but their customer service is great.



In-n-Out and your assessment of them is correct.
Posted by biglego
Ask your mom where I been
Member since Nov 2007
76170 posts
Posted on 1/7/18 at 9:57 am to
HEB
Posted by HotKoolaid
Member since Oct 2017
444 posts
Posted on 1/7/18 at 10:00 am to
quote:

“The customer may not always be right, but they are still the customer.”


Bingo. Anytime you can get an angry customer out the door without taking a loss, you're doing pretty good. My general rule in the restaurant business is make them happy and get them out as quickly as possible. 10 years ago I used a different philosophy but now with facebook it just takes one twat with camera phone and 750 friends to slander your name. I had a customer one time walk into the prep area and take a picture of an employee sitting on a plastic bucket without any context. It was a publicity nightmare.

If anyone reading this is the type of person to snap a picture and send it to a corporate office, I hope you die in a fire. At least send it to the GM first and asked for a reply before contacting some guy in another city who's never worked in a restaurant in his life.
This post was edited on 1/7/18 at 10:01 am
Posted by Kraut Dawg
Member since Sep 2012
4503 posts
Posted on 1/7/18 at 10:00 am to
(no message)
This post was edited on 11/8/20 at 9:04 am
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