the customer isn't always..........

The customer is alsways right until the business no longer wants them as a customer.

I don't think anyone who feels he was treated wrong/poorly and was given the impression the management didn't care would ever return. I know I wouldn't.

I deal with the public all day and would love to tell a number of customers what pricks they are, but I like getting a paycheck at the end of the week. The customers are the ones writing the paychecks.

That is one of the few perks about owning my own business.... I do get to let people know when I wish them to take their business elsewhere. It has not happened often, but the few times I've politely told someone that they might be more welcome elsewhere, its always put a smile on my and my employees faces. It takes someone making a total ass out of themselves to get to this point though.

Back when I was waiting tables in a corporate restaurant, I had a manager who very much used the "I put my respected employees in front of any customer" idea. While the other managers were most concerned about bottom-line numbers, reaching goals and customer satisfaction, this manager knew that the easiest way to hit those numbers and reach those goals was by letting his employees know that he had their back - unless they did something absolutely egregious (like when I offered to take a disagreement to the parking lot).

He especially had my back because I never missed work, was always on time, and worked about 80 hours a week. He knew if he lost me, he would be that much further away from reaching those goals and hitting those numbers. I remember two specific times when I walked up to him and said, "I want the customer at X table out of this restaurant in the next 5 minutes." Once he had the details of the situation (both in regards to cutting people off), he did exactly what I asked. What would you rather lose - one customer* or a valued employee?

* This question is a little more slippery with the ability to spread information on the web. But, for him, when the situation was warranted, he would go above and beyond to make sure employees knew they were valued and to make our work as painless as possible.