Is the Customer Always Right?

No New Cola, Please. In perhaps the most notorious corporate misfire ever, in 1985 Coca Cola replaced its much-loved product with a new version. Coke customers quickly expressed their horror that Coke had messed with their beloved drink. Shortly thereafter, Coke backtracked, re-releasing its original product as “Classic Coke.” The customer had won.

The logical question here is, “Why didn’t Coke ask the customer what she wanted first?” Well, according to Coke’s own website, the “formula [was] preferred in taste tests of nearly 200,000 consumers.” The website goes on to say,

What these tests didn't show, of course, was the bond consumers felt with their Coca-Cola—something they didn't want anyone, including The Coca-Cola Company, tampering with.

Netflix. Let’s fast forward to 2011 and the Netflix fiasco. Netflix, purveyor of streaming movies and TV shows and DVDs, decided to split into two companies: Netflix for streaming and Qwikster for DVDs. With this division, customers would now have to go to a website for streaming and another for DVDs—and to both if they didn’t know which medium was available. People would also receive two bills. (And Netflix did this shortly after raising prices and losing roughly a million customers.)

After a tidal wave of protest from customers, Netflix backtracked and apologized. The customer had won.

So, Is the Customer Always Right?

These stories are different. After all, Coke did extensive consumer research. Netflix flat out blundered.

But the important point is that it doesn’t matter if the customer is always right. The smart organization responds to the customer’s desires anyway (within reason, of course). And this is true whether dealing with a million customers or with one.

This may seem obvious, but it’s not always put into practice. Many hardworking employees want to provide “the best product possible. “ But what does that mean, really? If a client orders a hot dog and you deliver a steak, have you met the customer’s needs?

Of course, one of your responsibilities to the customer is to provide guidance and expertise—after all, that’s why your organization was chosen in the first place. Due diligence would require that you explain why the steak is a better choice than the hot dog. Then, if the customer still insists on doing things her way, you have two basic options. One is to reassess whether you want to associated with what you consider to be a truly bad idea. The other is, well, to give the customer what she wants.

Do your employees understand the difference between being “right” and meeting the customer’s needs? Where do you draw the line?

--by Wendy Caster 

Wendy Caster is a writer specializing in finances, health and wellness, and organizational management. Her short movie, Second Glance, is making the rounds of film festivals.