For decades, the expression «Customer is King» has been a mantra in the corporate world. It reflects a vision in which the company places the customer at the top of the decision-making hierarchy, adapting its products and services to his every wish. This approach, stemming from mass marketing and reinforced by increased competition in a globalized world, has shaped the customer culture of many organizations.he best listening, the best experience, wins.
At a time when opinion platforms are exploding, demands are on the rise, and abusive behavior is on the rise, this maxim is showing its limits. It now gives rise to misunderstandings, internal tensions and even managerial excesses.
And what if, paradoxically, the myth of the «Customer King» weakened customer culture more than it developed it? It's time to question this belief, and think about a more balanced, more human, more sustainable customer-company relationship. in fine... more efficient.
The origins and virtues of expression
The concept was theorized and popularized mainly in the Anglo-Saxon world and in the retail sector. The formula is often credited to «The customer is always right» à Harry Gordon Selfridge, founder of Selfridges department stores in London at the beginning of the 20th century, or to Marshall Field, American businessman and founder of the famous Chicago stores of the same name.
These distribution pioneers implemented an innovative sales policy for their time: always prove customers right to win their loyalty, even if this meant occasional losses or unjustified returns.
«Right or wrong, the customer is always right.» - Harry Gordon Selfridge (circa 1909)
The premise is simple (and largely validated by academic research): customer satisfaction is the key to success. In a competitive market, whoever offers the best service, the best listening, the best experience, wins.
Note that the expression «Client Roi», widely used in France, has a more monarchic and symbolic tone. Does this expression reflect a cultural heritage? In any case, it reinforces the idea that the company is at the customer's service, and not the other way round. The royal figure evokes obedience, reverence and the idea of supreme power exercised by the consumer.
The expression has forged the customer orientation of many individuals, its raw evidence constituting its strength. As employees themselves remind us during customer culture diagnostics or research projects: «it's the customer who (keeps) them going». In this sense, they often point to a strong preoccupation on the part of their management or organization to :
- short-term profitability
- the technique
- internal constraints
- all 3
The limits of expression: pressure, abuse and imbalance
While placing the customer at the heart of the business is legitimate, it can also lead to significant excesses. The first victim of this logic is often... the employee.
1. Employees under pressure
In the service professions, the Customer King culture has resulted in constant pressure on employees to please, avoid conflict, respond quickly, be available, deal with dissatisfaction and sometimes aggression, all the while keeping a smile on their faces. This pressure generates stress, emotional fatigue and feelings of injustice.
We're seeing a shift: the customer becomes a permanent judge, often armed with a rating platform or online reviews. Errors or blunders are immediately made public. Employees are exposed, monitored and evaluated. And this power can be misused.
2. Sometimes abusive customer behavior
The myth of the Customer as King has also fostered inappropriate, even abusive customer behavior. Some customers feel entitled to demand everything, to be rude and even verbally abusive, in the name of their consumer status.
We sometimes witness scenes where the customer's aggressiveness is tolerated by the company, which prefers to avoid conflict and «keep the customer». This choice destroys internal cohesion, demotivates teams, and damages the corporate culture.
3. All in all, a loss of culture ... customer
This relentless pursuit of immediate customer satisfaction can also mean losing sight of what's essential: the company's mission, its coherence, its values. Not everything can be done «on demand». Some companies exhaust themselves chasing shifting, contradictory and unrealistic expectations, sometimes forgetting their own vision.
This unbalanced and painful relationship develops customer fear and disengagement. It literally exhausts the customer orientation of individuals, destroying in fine a genuine customer culture, i.e. the ability to listen to and understand the customer in order to inform the company's choices and decisions
Finally, it is likely that the notion of the "King Customer", as a constitutive ingredient of service orientation, acts as an inhibitor or even cultural repellent for certain agents in public or para-public environments.
Towards an enriched relationship
Faced with these facts, the relationship with the customer needs to be rethought. It's no longer a question of worshipping the customer as a king, but of inviting him to become a partner. partner. This change in attitude implies a number of changes.
1. Protecting and enhancing the role of the employee
The employee is not a mere executor. He is the bearer of the’customer experience. A company that values its staff, gives them autonomy, and protects them from toxic behavior, actually reinforces the quality of its service. Because an employee who is listened to, respected and fulfilled will be more likely to listen to the customer in turn.
An executive recently told us that he no longer obliged his staff to contact a dissatisfied customer who had been particularly virulent. He gave them the choice. This seems to us an appropriate gesture: reminding people of the meaning and value of customer contact, setting limits to protect the team and leaving the decision and execution to the employee.
2. Manage customer relations
Deconstructing the myth of the customer as king does not mean scorning the customer, but rather laying down the rules of the relationship. Just as customers have rights, they also have duties. It is possible to refuse disrespectful behavior, to teach courtesy, to impose a relationship ethic.
Some players in the e-commerce and restaurant sectors have introduced charters of mutual respect, or even blacklists of abusive customers. We're all familiar with the example of UBER, where customer behavior is assessed by the driver on every ride.
It is possible and desirable to defend the expertise of the staff in contact or of the organization (by mobilizing an expert) in the case of services with a strong technical basis (craft products, technological products). For example, a customer may (sincerely) believe that he understands his car's technical problem after consulting online forums - but it's highly likely that the staff in contact with him are more legitimate in formulating a diagnosis!
3. Co-constructing with the customer
Finally, the customer is a co-creator potential. Today, many brands are committed to co-design, involving their customers in product development, feedback and continuous improvement. This approach transforms the relationship, moving from passive satisfaction to active involvement. The customer becomes a player in a joint project.
4. Balancing constraints
The myth of the Customer King is showing its limitations in building a strong customer culture. Deconstructing this myth does not mean abandoning the customer, but rather rethinking the relationship in a way that is fairer, more respectful, more human and, ultimately, more customer-oriented.
