Probably not. You might even go out of your way to make him happy. It’s amazing to me how many people don’t see customers in that light.

I know customer don’t have the commitment to your success that a boss does – but pleasing them is still the only way to keep your paycheck from bouncing. And I don’t believe the customer is always right. Saying they are is demoralizing to your staff. But even when they’re wrong, you don’t need to treat them like they’re jerks.

But shouldn’t everyone in your company go out of their way to make the customer happy? Is it too much to ask that they look you in the eye, speak in clear understandable language, act like if you’re interrupting them, it’s for something more important than what they were doing?

The truth is a lot of this starts at the top in a company – do you hire, train and reward based on these kinds of things? Or do you just expect them to happen?

Fast Company September 2006 has a great issue on this topic. with a great article about Lewis Black – a very funny guy – that you can read on line. I think you’ll have to wait a month to read the whole thing on line.

Takeaways.

• Pleasing customers is the only way to keep your paycheck from bouncing.
• It’s your job to create a culture that understands this.