Top 5 Reasons Why ‘The Customer Is Always Right’ Is Wrong
Why Read This
What Makes This Article Worth Your Time
Summary
What This Article Is About
Alexander Kjerulf challenges the century-old business maxim “the customer is always right,” coined by Harry Gordon Selfridge in 1909, arguing it actually leads to worse customer service. Using compelling examples from Southwest Airlines CEO Herb Kelleher and Continental Airlines CEO Gordon Bethune, he demonstrates how these leaders deliberately rejected this philosophy by supporting employees over unreasonable customers, ultimately creating better workplace cultures and superior service.
The article presents five core arguments: prioritizing customers over employees breeds resentment among staff, rewards abusive behavior, allows toxic customers to damage business culture, produces superficial rather than genuine service, and ignores the reality that some customers are objectively wrong. Kjerulf advocates for an employee-first approach, exemplified by Rosenbluth International’s philosophy “Put The Customer Second,” contending that happy employees naturally deliver better customer experiences because they care more, have greater energy, and feel genuinely motivated rather than coerced into politeness.
Key Points
Main Takeaways
Employee Resentment Destroys Service
Consistently siding with customers over employees sends the message that staff aren’t valued, leading to demoralized workers who provide only superficial courtesy.
Abusive Customers Get Rewarded
The “always right” philosophy gives unreasonable people unfair advantages, making employees’ jobs harder while punishing courteous customers who don’t demand special treatment.
Firing Bad Customers Works
Southwest Airlines and ServiceGruppen demonstrate that dismissing toxic customers protects workplace dignity and isn’t merely a financial calculation but a matter of respect.
Happy Employees Create Better Service
Rosenbluth International’s “Put The Customer Second” philosophy proves that employees who feel valued care more, have greater energy, and deliver genuinely excellent service.
Leadership Determines Service Culture
CEOs like Kelleher and Bethune demonstrate that management’s willingness to support employees against unreasonable demands creates workplaces where genuine service can flourish.
Customers Can Be Objectively Wrong
Examples like the Nazi emblem incident prove some customer demands are unreasonable, offensive, or legally problematic, requiring businesses to draw clear boundaries.
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Article Analysis
Breaking Down the Elements
Main Idea
Inverting Customer Service Orthodoxy
The article’s central thesis is that the traditional business maxim “the customer is always right” is fundamentally counterproductive and should be abandoned. Kjerulf argues that prioritizing employees over customers—a seemingly radical inversion of conventional wisdom—actually produces superior customer service outcomes. By examining how successful leaders like Herb Kelleher and Gordon Bethune built thriving companies while explicitly rejecting this maxim, the article demonstrates that employee satisfaction is the true foundation of excellent customer experiences, not customer appeasement at any cost.
Purpose
Persuasive Challenge to Business Dogma
Kjerulf writes to persuade business leaders and managers to abandon a deeply ingrained customer service philosophy by demonstrating its negative consequences. The article aims to shift thinking about workplace culture and service quality by providing compelling real-world examples from respected business leaders who achieved success precisely by rejecting conventional wisdom. The purpose extends beyond mere critique—it advocates for a specific alternative philosophy (employee-first approach) and provides both logical arguments and concrete case studies to support organizational culture change.
Structure
Anecdotal Hook → Numbered Arguments → Call to Action
The article opens with a memorable anecdote about Southwest Airlines’ “Pen Pal” customer and Herb Kelleher’s blunt dismissal, immediately establishing that successful companies do reject difficult customers. After providing historical context about Selfridge’s original phrase, it transitions to a structured five-point argument explaining why the maxim fails: employee unhappiness, rewarding abusive behavior, tolerating toxic customers, producing worse service, and ignoring customer wrongness. Each point includes supporting evidence from business leaders and companies, building a cumulative case before concluding with a clear alternative philosophy.
Tone
Confident, Direct & Provocative
Kjerulf adopts an assertive, almost iconoclastic tone that directly challenges established business thinking without hedging or apologizing. The writing uses strong declarative statements (“the customer is always right” is “wrong,” some customers are “bad for business”) and incorporates colorful language from CEOs like Bethune calling certain customers “unreasonable, demanding jerks.” This confident approach, combined with concrete examples and the credibility of successful business leaders, creates a persuasive voice that feels authoritative rather than merely contrarian, inviting readers to reconsider assumptions they may have never questioned.
Key Terms
Vocabulary from the Article
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Tough Words
Challenging Vocabulary
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A long, repetitive, and often tedious recitation or series of complaints, requests, or items presented in succession.
“Her last letter, reciting a litany of complaints, momentarily stumped Southwest’s customer relations people.”
Difficult to control or manage; disorderly and disruptive, refusing to obey rules or authority.
“In conflicts between employees and unruly customers he would consistently side with his people.”
A laborer bound under the feudal system to work on a lord’s estate; metaphorically, someone treated as having no rights or autonomy.
“You can’t treat your employees like serfs. You have to value them.”
Harsh, rough, or caustic in manner or speech; showing little concern for the feelings of others and often causing irritation.
“Using the slogan ‘The customer is always right,’ abrasive customers can demand just about anything.”
Having an effect opposite to the one intended; tending to hinder rather than help the achievement of a desired goal or outcome.
“Trying to solve this by declaring the customer ‘always right’ is counter-productive.”
The act of being disloyal or breaking trust; violating someone’s confidence or abandoning those who depend on your support.
“I think that’s one of the biggest betrayals of employees a boss can possibly commit.”
Reading Comprehension
Test Your Understanding
5 questions covering different RC question types
1According to the article, Gordon Bethune refused to meet with a customer who complained about the airline’s policy regarding offensive emblems.
2What is the primary reason Rosenbluth International’s “Put The Customer Second” philosophy leads to better customer service?
3Which sentence best captures Gordon Bethune’s philosophy about balancing employee and customer interests?
4Based on the article, determine whether each statement about customer service philosophy is true or false.
The phrase “the customer is always right” was originally coined in 1909 by Harry Gordon Selfridge.
ServiceGruppen, a Danish IT service provider, cancelled a customer’s contract after the customer treated a technician rudely.
Herb Kelleher wrote a lengthy, detailed letter to “Mrs. Crabapple” explaining why Southwest couldn’t accommodate her preferences.
Select True or False for all three statements, then click “Check Answers”
5What can be inferred about why the article uses multiple CEO examples rather than relying on a single case study?
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
“Fake good service” refers to interactions that are courteous only on the surface—employees going through the motions of politeness without genuine care or motivation. This occurs when companies consistently side with customers over employees, creating resentment that makes authentic, enthusiastic service impossible. Workers may say the right words and maintain professional demeanor, but the underlying energy, warmth, and genuine desire to help are absent because they feel undervalued and unsupported by management.
Kelleher dismissed her because she fundamentally disagreed with Southwest’s entire business model—no assigned seats, no first class, no meals, casual atmosphere. Since these were core elements of Southwest’s value proposition and competitive advantage, accommodating her would have required changing what made the airline successful. More importantly, her constant complaints despite continuing to fly demonstrated she would never be satisfied. Kelleher recognized that some customers are incompatible with a business’s identity and that trying to please everyone dilutes what makes a company distinctive.
The employee-first approach isn’t about neglecting customers—it’s about recognizing that happy, valued employees naturally deliver better service. The article argues that when workers feel supported and respected, they have more energy, care more about others including customers, and are genuinely motivated rather than just compliant. This creates a virtuous cycle where employee satisfaction drives customer satisfaction. In contrast, poor customer service stems from employees who either lack training or feel demoralized, neither of which characterizes companies like Southwest and Continental in their successful periods.
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This article is rated as Intermediate level. It uses business terminology like “maxim,” “counter-productive,” and “resentment” while presenting arguments through extended anecdotes and case studies. The writing requires readers to follow logical progressions across multiple examples and synthesize evidence from different sources. The vocabulary and argumentative structure make it appropriate for test-takers preparing for standardized exams like CAT, GRE, or GMAT who need practice analyzing persuasive business writing and evaluating claims supported by real-world examples.
Alexander Kjerulf is known as the “Chief Happiness Officer” and specializes in workplace happiness as a speaker, consultant, and author. He wrote “Happy Hour is 9 to 5: How to love your job, love your life and kick butt at work” and runs a consultancy offering lectures and workshops on happiness at work for major clients including IBM, Hilton, LEGO, HP, and Ikea. His authority comes from both his research focus on employee satisfaction and his practical experience helping major corporations implement happiness-focused workplace cultures, giving him insights into what actually works in real business environments.
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