The Customer Is... Sometimes Right?

What do Nordstrom and Chick Fil-A have in common? Fast food and upscale retail. Tough one, right? Here's a hint: they're both market leaders.

How about Lexus and Wegmans? Luxury cars and price-competitive groceries. International footprint and 70ish stores in the Northeast. Tough to see a connection?

How about Connecticut's Griffin Hospital and Diamond Plumbing of Greater LA? Yes, they have something in common with each other, and with each of the other brands I've mentioned.

Oklahoma's Loving Care Home Health Care and Four Seasons Hotels. Saratoga Technologies and Stew Leonard's, "The World's Largest Dairy Store." Mitchell's ultra-retail clothiers, with rack upon rack of $3,000 suits, and Ooh-la-la Jewels Du Jour, with tables-full of $8 bracelets.

Give up yet?

These organizations all function on the same bedrock principal: The Customer is Always Right. And guess what? They are each wildly successful. They lead their fields or their markets.

I've gathered a vibe lately that perhaps the ages-old adage "The customer is always right" has fallen out of fashion with many self-proclaimed "thought-leaders" (aka experts) in business and even within the realm of customer service.

Guess again.

Being right will never be out of fashion - or more to the point, who cares what the latest trend is, if what you're doing is winning the day with your customers.

The next time someone tries to tell you that the customer can sometimes be wrong - not in a literal sense, but from a business-philosophy perspective - ask them how that attitude is working for them. What corporate ship do they steer? How are they faring against the competition? How many of their customers brag about them on a daily basis to their friends, coworkers, even strangers in line at the bank?

These remain tough times. Be careful who you take advice from.