We’ve all heard the age-old adage: “The customer is always right.” While this saying is intended to promote excellent customer service, it can often backfire, negatively affecting businesses and employees. Let’s take a quick dive into this phrase’s history before exploring why it might not be the best approach for your business today.

“The customer is always right” was coined in 1909 by Harry Gordon Selfridge, the founder of Selfridge’s department store in London. It built customer trust, signalling that their needs would always be prioritised. While this sentiment had good intentions, it can sometimes cause more harm than good in a modern business context.

Here are three reasons why “the customer is always right” may be doing more harm than good and how you can rethink this approach to better support both your team and your bottom line:

1. It Undermines Employee Morale

One of the most damaging effects of blindly following this philosophy is the impact on employee morale. In any business, there will be difficult customers—those who are rude, unreasonable, or outright abusive. Constantly siding with customers in these situations can leave your employees feeling undervalued and unsupported.

When your employees believe that their well-being takes a back seat to demanding customers, it creates a toxic work environment. This can lead to higher employee turnover, reduced productivity, and poor customer service. As Charu Singh, founder of Zooki, notes, “It is immature to expend all your energy on satisfying someone who does not intend to be happy.”

Solution: Stand by your employees, especially when they’ve gone above and beyond to help a problematic customer. Showing solidarity with your team fosters loyalty and encourages them to deliver better service to well-behaved customers. Remember: happy employees lead to happy customers.

2. It Wastes Valuable Resources

In today’s economic climate, businesses often operate with limited resources. Continuously trying to appease every customer—especially those who are never satisfied—can drain time, money, and energy. Aiming to meet unrealistic demands from difficult customers can prevent you from focusing on the broader needs of your loyal, well-behaved clientele.

There will always be a small percentage of customers who are impossible to satisfy. If you’ve already taken reasonable steps to resolve their issues, going above and beyond to win them over at all costs could be detrimental to your business.

Solution: Focus on the bigger picture. While providing excellent service is essential, your resources should be directed towards customers who value your business and appreciate your efforts. Prioritising your core customer base and maintaining operational efficiency will significantly impact your long-term success.

3. It Stifles Innovation and Change

Change is inevitable in business, whether it’s a new product offering, pricing model, or process improvement. However, some customers resist change—even when it’s for the better. For example, when Toblerone changed the shape of its chocolate bars, many customers were outraged simply because it was different from what they were used to.

If you’re overly focused on pleasing every customer, predominantly the vocal minority resistant to change, it can prevent you from making necessary improvements to your business. Overvaluing negative feedback could cause you to hold back on changes that would benefit your business in the long run.

Solution: Listen to customer feedback, but don’t be afraid to make bold changes if they align with your business strategy. Trust your expertise and knowledge of your industry. Ultimately, no one knows your business better than you do, and sometimes, you have to make decisions that may face initial backlash but prove beneficial in the long term.

Balance Customer Service with Business Needs

Providing excellent customer service is essential, but that doesn’t mean blindly following the “customer is always right” mentality. Instead, aim to balance maintaining excellent customer relations and protecting your employees and resources. Focusing on what suits your team and customers will create a healthier work environment and a more substantial business.

How does your company handle difficult customers? Let us know in the comments!