THE phrase ‘the customer is king’ is so universal in business that there are versions of it in multiple languages.
In German, der Kunde ist König literally translates as the above, while in eager-to-please Japan, it moves a step above that - ‘the customer is a god’. In France, companies remind their workers that ‘the customer is never wrong’.
It all amounts to the same thing in anyone’s language. That to entice and retain customers, a business must do everything it can to satisfy them - even if the customer is, for want of a better word, a bit of a bollix.
This business mantra has been around since the dawn of the giant retail stories in the 19th century - and you only have to step into Penneys or Marks & Spencer today to see the same courtesy extended by staff to all-comers.
However, away from the large chains, and amongst the thousands of small businesses across Cork and Ireland in the service sector that are run by their owners, this is an attitude that seems to be shifting.
Yes, they still treat customers with respect, but at the same time they may also be making a judgement call on the ones who don’t deserve that respect.
For a variety of reasons, it is these business owners who are now king (or queen, of course); it is they who now get to pick and choose their customers, and it is the customers that have to be on their best behaviour in order to retain the trust of the business.
The boot is very much on the other foot, and I have seen plenty of anecdotal evidence in recent times to suggest that this is more than just ‘a thing’ - it’s a trend that is growing.
So, what’s going on?
Well, number one is that, in recent times, the amount of customers who seem happy to act the bollix has grown exponentially.
It used to be a small few, but now it seems that a far larger proportion of people are entitled, rude, obnoxious, offensive, and even downright hostile to the people with whom they do business.
I’m tempted to suggest that these traits have become more pronounced since the Covid pandemic, an issue my colleague Áilín Quinlan touched upon in a recent column in The Echo.
“We were getting money from the government for doing nothing,” she wrote of the pandemic. “Many workplaces closed down and some people never went back to work. The emphasis turned to leisure as a way to live.
“Did this topsy-turvy mindset become permanently fixed in the minds of some? Has it given us a sense of entitlement to do nothing to justify our existence in the world?”
That’s entirely possible - and certainly, towards the end of the pandemic, the message sent out by all and sundry to support local businesses may have fostered the belief that customers were doing businesses a favour; they are, of course, but a business transaction is a two-way thing that requires respect and dignity on each side. It isn’t a master-and-servant situation.
Then again, perhaps this trait of unthinking selfishness and entitlement pre-dates Covid, and is the result of a gradual breakdown in community values and the onset of smartphone addiction; an online world where you never have to speak to another human and lose the ability to interact with real people in a pleasant fashion
Whatever the reason, the public seem noticeably quicker to complain and gripe, and slower to be polite and express gratitude.
Not everyone, of course - but if the 1% of bad pennies has become 10%, then that will be very noticeable - and incredibly irksome - if you’re dealing with the public every day.
The one slender excuse customers may have is that everything is so darn expensive these days, and they want to ensure value for money - but you can surely achieve that with a smile instead of a snarl.
However, at the same time as customers are becoming ruder, change is happening on the other side of the transaction.
Many owners of small businesses in the service sector are finding that decent trading conditions mean they can pick and choose their customers. They can deal with the ones who are friendly, punctual, and pay on time, and disregard the moaners and chancers.
This attitude is bolstered by the fact staff are so hard to come by these days, that business owners want to ensure their workers operate in a happy, stress-free environment so they will stay in the job.
How better to do this than to only do business with the customers who treat them like equals, rather than dogsbodies?
There has been another attitude shift among many small business owners too - and this may also be connected to the pandemic. Many of them don’t feel the need to chase every transaction and work very long hours any more; money is important, sure, but so are lifestyle and leisure, and happiness in the workplace.
If they are making enough, and trading conditions are fair... well, happy days.
Life is too short to put up with rude and obnoxious members of the public who act like they are the masters, and the people with whom they do business are their servants.
It’s a fascinating flip in the history of industry: That it is the companies, particularly the smaller ones, who are now judging their customers and deciding who is good enough for them; and it is the customers who must impress in order to retain the trust of the business.
Sort of a role reversal of a job interview, really, where the candidate asks the ‘boss’ all the questions - ‘Why should I work for you? How can your company advance my career?’
The era of ‘the customer is king’ is dead; long live the business owners!
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