the customer is always right in matters of taste

Now, close your eyes. Just imagine yourself standing midst row after row in that sea of colored clothes in a busy department store. One customer comes towards you with something in his hand.

It is a neon-green polka-dotted sweater with sequins, something that would have made any disco ball jealous. He says to you, “This is perfect!” You go inside and shudder. Then the golden rule of retail flashes through your mind: “The customer is always right in matters of taste.”

Misunderstood and oft-quoted, this adage has been misunderstood. It has sat at the cornerstone of the customer service philosophy for well over a century.

But what does it really mean, and how has it shaped our consumer culture?

The Origins of a Retail Revolution.

Shall I take you down memory lane? The adage “the customer is always right” was claimed to have been coined by Harry Gordon Selfridge. It was also attributed to John Wanamaker and Marshall Field. These individuals were early 1900s retailing entrepreneurs.

These erudite business persons instinctively surmised that taking customers’ complaints seriously was the formula for success. The world was one where caveat emptor or “buyer beware” was more often than not the rule.

But here’s the thing: the whole phrase “the customer is always right in matters of taste” broaches an important nuance. Most people do not catch it. This has nothing to do with spoiling your customers. It does not mean letting them get away with anything. It does not mean running amok in your shop like a bull in a china shop.

Rather, it is respect for their tastes-even if those clash with your own.

When Taste Trumps Reason.

Now, let’s get down to tacks. This philosophy is never about kowtowing to every Tom, Dick, and Harry that comes through your door. Rather, it is acknowledging one thing—people have personal tastes. Personal tastes can’t be measured by anything.

Consider this:

Customer: “I’d like my steak well-done and smothered in ketchup.”
Chef: inner screaming
Waiter: “Certainley, sir, fries with that?”
Is the customer committing a culinary crime? Maybe. But when it comes to matters of taste, they’re the boss-applesauce.

The Double-Edged Sword of Customer Satisfaction

Well, here is the thing: some businesses have taken that mantra to extremes. They have thus created this “customer is king” culture. This culture can backfire faster than the words “refund policy” could be spoken. It tiptoes along the thin line from customer satisfaction to customer entitlement.

Do you remember those “Karen” memes that went around? Those are literally the poster children of what happens when “the customer is always right” goes haywire. Next thing you know, someone is demanding to speak with your manager. Their latte was not precisely 98.6° F.

Finding the Sweet Spot

How then do we balance the two? It’s an acrobatic feat: You walk the tightrope and juggle the flaming torches-tricky but not impossible.
Respect the don’t want’s, not the can’ts. Active listening, empathic response. Gently educating where indicated, yet clearly stating any boundaries. It’s all about finding that Goldilocks zone-too rigid, too loose, just right.

Modern Version:

But with the new avatar of technology in today’s world, it is precisely the other way around. If a product today fails rapidly, it has less to do with individual whims. It concerns more with collective consumer behavior. Smart businesses do not blame their customers but listen and adapt.

Remember New Coke? What a taste bud disaster of mega proportions. But it did not dig in its heels. Coca-Cola listened to the outcry, brought back the original formula faster than you can say “Classic Coke.”

The Bottom Line

After all, “the customer is always right” in matters of taste is not about rolling over and playing dead. It is to understand diversity in preference, listen to your market, and change with the tide.

So next time some customer wants to buy that eye-searing sweater or orders a pizza with pineapple, just remember this. In the grand tapestry of taste, his thread is as valid as yours.

And here’s one to make you go hmm. If the customer is always right in matters of taste, what does that say? What does it reveal about the tastemasters who created those products in the first place? Enough to spin your head faster than a salad spinner on steroids.

As the great philosopher Ferris Bueller once said, “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” The same could be said about customer preference.

Keep your eyes and ears open. You might just learn something new about the ever-changing landscape that is consumer taste.

And next time having to humor a customer’s questionable decision, take a deep breath. Slap on your best retail smile. After all, there’s just no accounting for taste out there. It’s a nutty little world called personal taste, and that’s perfectly okay.