Can we talk about the mantra 'the customer is always right'?

My manager at the auto parts store drilled this into me for 2 years. He said just apologize and give them what they want, even if they're wrong. Last month a guy argued our oil filters didn't fit his 2018 Civic because the threads looked different. I checked the part number 3 times, it was correct. Manager made me refund him anyway and let him keep the filter. Two days later the guy came back with a destroyed engine because he cross-threaded it. My manager had to explain to corporate why we gave away a free filter that caused a $2,800 repair. Has anyone else had a boss stick to bad advice even after it blew up?

2 comments

2 Comments

dylanward9d ago

That manager really played stupid games and won the stupid prize, huh. My old boss at the electronics store had the same logic, would let people return obviously fried laptops because "the customer said they didn't do it." One guy brought back a laptop that still had smoke coming out of the vent and my manager just shrugged and gave him a brand new one. The thing is, these managers don't actually care about the customer, they just don't want to deal with a five minute argument. They'd rather the company eat thousands in losses than have one awkward conversation.

the_michael9d ago

That "customer is always right" thing just trains people to avoid thinking for themselves, and it's the same reason folks will drive three miles past a pothole every day instead of just reporting it.