As we have been talking about customer service, we wanted to share a question from one of our Toronto office space tenants who asked our blogger “Why do people say ‘The customer is always right’ when sometimes the customer is actually wrong?” Our blogger promised that he will investigate and write about this assumption.

Remember in our previous blog we mentioned that it was Harry Gordon Selfridge, an American-born retailer and the founder of Selfridge’s Department Store in London, who first coined the phrase “The customer is always right” in 1909. He did this to convince customers that they will get good service at his store and to encourage employees to give customers fine service. While he is also credited with being the first to promote Christmas sales with the phrase “Only _____ Shopping Days Until Christmas”, that strategy is often exploited by customers who will never be satisfied or happy with the goods or services they purchase.

Here are a few reasons that companies have to be careful of following the “The customer is always right” adage too closely – especially when it comes to unruly customers who always complain.

It can make staff unhappy because they do not see you as protecting their back. In conflicts between employees and unruly customers, employers need to side with employees when it is obvious the customer is wrong – or risk losing talented and loyal workers who meet and sometimes exceed the needs of 99% of their customers.
It can give abrasive customers an unfair advantage over your good customers and your business. Abusive customers can demand just about anything, believing they’re right by definition because of your “The customer is always right” policy. This can often make your employees’ job much more difficult when trying to rein in customers who refuse to accept that the problem was not caused by your product or service, or even by your staff. It also means that abusive people get better treatment than customers who do not constantly complain. It makes much more sense to be nice to the good customers to keep them coming back.
Some bad customers are just bad for business. While most businesses want every customer they can service, this is not always best for their business. If you are spending more time dealing with difficult customers, you have less time to work with good customers who are loyal, repeat clients who are happy with your service. These are the customers you want to retain.

While defining what makes a good customer and a bad customer may be difficult, there are signs that will indicate who is taking advantage of you. When a customer consistently uses your product and service and every transaction ends up with a complaint (but they still continue to use your product or service), chances are they are hoping to get something else in return. Airlines are constantly bombarded by complaints from a few customers who continue to fly with them, but are never happy with one aspect or another. A good customer will bring a problem or concern to your attention without expectations of anything more than resolving the issue.

Some businesses who identify continuously bad customers, will make the choice to fire or sever business relations with that customer. One example of asking a customer to find another place to conduct business was actually not an office space Toronto tenant, but a Toronto virtual office client. This client consistently had some customers who would show up at our office space reception un-announced to the a client who did not have a physical office at our business centre. Our receptionist was bound not to inform their client that they did not have an actual office here, but could only tell them that the client was not in at the time.

As this went on and on, we needed to inform the virtual office client that their customer showing up un-announced had become rude and an annoyance to our receptionist. We had to ask the client to ask his customer to stop just showing up – or the client should find a new virtual office arrangement. The client decided to stop serving the customer instead of having to change his business address. Shortly after they did this, business was going good, the client decided they wanted physical office space and rented an office for rent Toronto at our office business centre without having to change his address. He now makes it clear to customers on his website that they are often not in the office, so appointments are absolutely necessary.

Over the past few blogs we have discussed customer service – but we have yet to discuss how to take it to the next level and provide ‘exceptional’ customer service. Our next blog will focus on some tips and examples of good and exceptional customer service. We we also tell you how exceptional customer service can benefit more than just the customers you serve.

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So what is Customer Service?

18 King Street East Suite 1400
Toronto, Ontario
M5C 1C4 Canada
416-574-1112

18 King Street East Suite 1400
Toronto, Ontario
Canada M5C 1C4
416-574-1112

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We are by far the most experienced and best coworking team in the market – established in 1980

We are the highest Tech centre in the market

We have a very modern, high quality, brand new facility located at:

18 King Street East, Suite 1400

Toronto, Ontario M5C 1C4 Canada

- 18 King Street East is a boutique Class A building – East of Yonge: easy street parking, less traffic, excellent restaurants and lovely parks – St. James Park @ Church & King and Berczy Park @ Wellington East, Scott and Front Streets – Very high energy and engaging area
- A few steps (a few seconds) to the Yonge Street subway/underground PATH network and streetcar available outside building
- Building is located in Toronto's vibrant financial district
- Plenty of parking available in the area including street parking and reserved parking in the 18 King building
- Adjacent to the building huge outdoor food courtyard - Beer Bistro www.beerbistro.com and Craft Beer Market www.craftbeermamrket.ca restaurants and bars with onsite catering services
- Onsite amenities: Tim Horton's, Beer Bistro, Convenience store and Starbucks across the street
- Nearby amenities: underground PATH network, numerous restaurants, banking, Starbucks plus a wide array of nearby shops and services
- New modernized office layout fully furnished with meeting spaces and training rooms plus café lounge area
- We are leaders in the service of training/meeting rooms with full conference facilities, high quality hot and cold catering
- Largest training room and conference facilities accommodate up to 60 people classroom style
- Ultra-high-speed - 1 GIG pipe = 1,000 x 1000 fiber-optic network, which will deliver internet connection speeds faster than most North American services
- Private shower room
- Indoor Reserved Parking at the current building rental rate
- Bicycle parking
- Rent a space to accommodate your team for meetings, training sessions, corporate events or coworking space or flexible office space for one day, one week, one month or one year, or whatever term suits your business
- Telsec has over 650 locations in 40 different countries worldwide available for their clients. Office clients receive up to 8 hours of meeting space per month at no charge at any ABCN member location. Plus, Office and Virtual Office clients may rent a space from any member location at special member rates which varies depending on the location
- King Edward Hotel is located across the street - recently completed a $40 million renovation and boutique hotels close by within walking distance

Dining and entertainment at high quality restaurants only minutes away – Carisma, Terroni, Woods Restaurant & Bar and Michelin Rated - Restaurant 20 Victoria. Plus numerous lunch and takeout eateries nearby

Please check out our 70 second video on our home page or click here:

Take a look at our facilities www.telsec.net

Telsec will Customize Your Client’s Office(s) Layout to Meet Their Requirements.

You are welcome to drop-in any-time, a quick call would be appreciated to ensure our availability Vanessa 416-574-1112 or Josie 416-606-4349 or e-mail josie@telsec.net.

In Customer Service, is the Customer Always Right?

Looking to Learn More?

So what is Customer Service?

What Makes Good Customer Service and Exceptional Customer Service?

In Customer Service, is the Customer Always Right?

Looking to Learn More?

So what is Customer Service?

What Makes Good Customer Service and Exceptional Customer Service?

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