Why Restaurants Are Pushing Back Against 'The Customer Is Always Right' Policy

We've all heard the expression "the customer is always right" — be it in a restaurant, at a retail store, on a television show, or from the mouth of a relative. In fact, you may have even heard it brought up by a fellow customer at a restaurant in relation to a dish they weren't particularly thrilled about. But how far does that saying go in today's restaurant environment? And perhaps more importantly, are you, the customer, really in the right in every situation? We asked an expert in client relations to dive into the details of this issue.

Not only does Dr. Frankie Weinberg have hands-on customer service experience as co-owner of Pomelo and Good Catch (two New Orleans restaurants), he's also a principle consultant at Leading Consultation International and a professor of management at Loyola University New Orleans. To him, this expression is a complicated one which can have different implications based on how it's used. "To customers and potential customers, it communicates the company cares about their wellbeing, that their perspective matters, and that the restaurant truly wants to hear them out," he says. But that doesn't tell the whole story. "When taken at face value, it can also communicate to employees that the customer takes precedence over them no matter what, and that can be damaging to employer-employee dynamics." This is one reason why you might see some pushback — it can sometimes be tricky to figure out who's really "right" in any given situation.

Don't get us wrong — just because you're asking to be accommodated by a restaurant doesn't mean that you're suddenly asking to be treated like a VIP, although that's also possible if you play your cards right. Rather, Dr. Frankie Weinberg's main gripe with "the customer is always right" seems to be that there are some people out there that are all too willing to take advantage of a restaurant that emphasizes customer satisfaction to the point where it becomes a pushover. This kind of environment can attract customers who may feel entitled to ordering off the menu or even being plain rude when they're ordering if they get the impression that they're the most (read: only) important person in the room. But these days, that kind of treatment won't fly with Dr. Weinberg.

"I have witnessed a more widespread expectation in society whereby customers expect to be refunded for anything for any reason. It's gotten to the point where it's difficult to title it anything other than abusive," he says. "I'm often willing to accommodate people's tastes and preferences as much as justly possible, but I'm never willing to compromise my employees or partners being disrespected. There's no compromise when it comes to their well-being. I'd rather lose a sale than accommodate that. And I have." Just remember that your server is just another person doing their best to do their job well. Approach things this way and you'll probably find yourself "in the right" more often than not.