Merry Christmas!

In honor of the upcoming holidays (even though it doesn’t even feel like it here in FL as we sweat all day, everyday) we thought this was appropriate to use when we stumbled across it. Here’s what was written (too good not to share):

Dear Customer,

You are not always right. And we do make fun of how stupid you are as soon as you leave.

Sincerely, Everyone who works retail.

This is so true. It’s just the reality that if you act up as a customer and always expect to be right you’re going to get made fun of or get the “A” price as we call it in the service industry. What’s also mind boggling is that the holidays are suppose to be a time for giving, being merry and spreading Christmas cheer but the holidays seem to bring out the CustoMonster in people. The customer is not always right, even people in retail know that.

If you have a CustoMonster walk into your store or business you know what to do…fire them.

Here is the link to the article

Now why on earth would a customer do this? Maybe if they were 16 it would be another thing you just laugh about but angry customer? Might we say…Fire that customer!? These kinds of customers are the ones you need to avoid my friends. Sometimes upfront you can’t tell that they might be a “goody bag deliverer,” but if you can see through them in the beginning then just say no.

You know where we stand on this….the customer is not always right but there are always two sides to every story of course. It’s easy to write something down and rant about it but what was the real story? Was it a glitch in the system, did the customer really think they selected that plan, was it the phone service’s fault?

One thing we know too is that most customer service reps deal with whining people day in and out and he could have had enough of it and just flat out said what he did out of frustration (even though the statement is completely true).

Anyways just always remember in any situation there are always two sides to the story and that the slogan “the customer is always right” is not in fact true anymore.

Each week at Business Beware we search around for great businesses where we talk with them about what they do, interview them and get their opinions on what they think about the slogan “the customer is always right.”  It’s absolutely amazing how business owners get fired up about bad customers because they put a stink in the air when they’re around.  We always hand out our stickers (created by our awesome partners at Websticker.com) that say “The Customer is NOT Always Right,” and they go nuts over them, especially restaurants!  So many take the sticker and put it on the front of their stores where customers walk in and see it.  It’s hilarious BUT think about it… if customers see this sticker it might make them think “oh I guess I can’t get away with my usual free meal stories…”  How many people that are in the food/restaurant industry have people that eat the whole plate of food and then decide to say it was not good and they want it complemented?  This happens daily around the world.  Now if you put the Business Beware sticker in the front of your store, your customer might think twice.  It definitely works according to the owners at The Reef Cafe.  They said “we put the sticker right as you walk in on the hostess stand and we have had some walk out that we had before that were irate customers and literally some of our employees cheered after they walked out.” 

Let customers know that they can’t keep getting away with what they do, it’s honestly like “stealing” from your business when they do.  Send us an email right now and we will mail you some free stickers for your business.  Send an email to info[at]businessbeware[dot]biz so we know who and where to send them to.  Just do it.

I talked with a lady the other day that had been a business owner for over 15 years and she never really knew you could fire a customer.  I told her “yes you can!”  Customers that take up your time and cost you money are not worth doing business with.  Great customer service is a must but not when they are taking advantage of you.  If you let the customer take advantage of you it’s your own fault and they will keep getting away with it. 

The other day I was sitting in a restaurant while two older men sat behind me talking about an electrician he hired to come out and do some work.  The total was suppose to be around $1300 while the older man said to the other “well I made him come down to $750 because that was just ridiculous for me to pay that much.”  He also says “if you know how to work them and make them think you’re always right then you can make them come down on the price.”  So he kept talking about the poor electrician he screwed over and then the waitress brings him the check and he replies to her “my food was terrible! I want it complemented!”  The waitress says “well sir you ate all of your food, how could it have not been that good?”  His friend tells the waitress “well he said the whole time he was eating it that it was terrible.”  By the time the older man finished with the waitress she was about in tears and the manager came over to talk with him.  He told the manager that he wanted the meal free so the manager gave both the men their meals free.  The older guy also says “well I want a few complemented meals for the next time I come here as well for all the trouble you put me through.”  The manager said he could not do that and that the meals were on the house for that day (good for you manager!). 

I rarely easedrop but they were so loud behind me I could not help but overhear what was going on.  This is a prime example of why customers are not always right.  A bad customer is a bad customer everywhere.  What’s bad is even the good customers can’t stand the bad customers, now what does that tell you?  Sorry customers, you’re not always right.  It’s a new day and Business Beware is here to stay my friend!

Also catch us every Saturday from 11am to Noon (est) where we talk about business/consumer relationships and why the customer is not always right.  For more information visit the radio site.

If you want to check out Mike’s interview only click here.

To listen to Shirley’s interview only click here.

Listen to the full show right here streamed through our Blog Talk Radio Show page:

Here is behind the scenes footage of the show.  Mentioned in this video: 1millionshirts.org, LifeLock.com, AmericanBridal.com, ConstructionDeal.com, Flickful.com, Movuu.com, Websticker.com and Sohobiztube.com

Make sure to check out how you can advertise through Business Beware!

Okay with that said we had a great show this past Saturday 4/3/10.  We had special guests: Christy with Regreet.com, Candice with CandyCainTravel.com and Shelley and Robyn with IronMommies.com  Also special host for the day was Rachel with RachelTheNanny.com

We talked about everything from eco-friendly greeting cards to bridezillas to mommy running clubs.  It was an all girls day and it rocked, sorry Robert   Check out the show right here streamed on our BTR show page.  Visit our official site to get more information on how to be a guest or be a sponsor!

Watch video from behind the scenes of the radio show:

No show this Saturday but tune in April 17th because we will have an awesome show and a very special guest, Michael King from HomeTalkUSA joining us!

Tune in and listen live on WSRQ this Saturday from 2-3pm (est). Just click “listen live” on the site and if you miss the program, no worries! We will rebroadcast it on our Blog Talk Radio station for you to listen to as well.