The user is clearly at fault, not your software. Right?
This topic seems to come up often. Let’s break it down.
Why you might feel this way
If you work in the service industry, you might know the expression:
“The customer is always right.”
It’s painful to hear, especially when it comes from the customer’s mouth, or your boss, or your colleague. So when might this happen?
- When ordering food, the customer complains that the meal served is different to what was expected.
- When using software, the user raises an issue with the way something should work.
Plenty more examples are available, but I tell you this, that the expression, at face value, is not always true. Instead, it’s almost always wrong.
Others may also disagree. Reading articles online, it has gotten to the point where some “customers” take advantage of this expression, waving it around like a free pass to exploit vendors doing what they can to provide.
The original intent of the expression, has somehow lost its meaning.
A change in perspective
I learnt this gem in the later years of my formal education. It might have been mentioned once, or twice. But this phrase has always stuck with me, and has changed my viewpoint for the better.
“The customer is not always right, but they have a point.”
The slight change, allows for the opportunity to view this and similar situations from an angle of curiousity.
It raises the following questions:
- What is their “point”?
- What are they trying to accomplish?
- Is what I’m currently offering working for them?
- How can I make this work?
Instead of having a one-sided situation, where you will lose out on other factors such as economics, team relationships or some other in the moment compromise. You instead go through this discovery phase, and do your best to understand what the real issue might be.
- Perhaps the order was for a different table.
- Perhaps the waiter wrote the order incorrectly.
- Perhaps the software they are using, could be more intuitive.
- Perhaps something is broken in the flow of what they are trying to do, or isn’t actually supported yet.
- Perhaps the customer didn’t see the option in front of them.
One step further
The focus should not be on who was right, or who was wrong. Instead, treat it as an opportunity for similar situations to happen less often going forward.
Often, customers want things to work for them. We do too! It can be very tempting to apply a quick fix, without doing the communication dance. Or simply blame the user, like the majority.
Would that improve the situation? Would that place you in a better place than where you began?
Understanding one another, to arrive at a solution with a happy outcome, is a difficult but fulfilling path to follow. Once you identify the root cause of an issue, and better understand it, you can proceed to resolve it, or at least prevent it from happening later.
- How can I ensure orders go to the right table? Could I change the table numbers such that odd numbers are on one side, and evens are on another?
- Could the waiter repeat and confirm the order? This ensures a costly mistake like this doesn’t happen again.
- The user tried X, but the software only supports X by doing Y. Could I help, guide, and explain to them through the process and mention the current limitations?
- Perhaps the docs could convey the process clearer.
- Could what they want, be supported in the main offering?
Best case, you improve and deliver a better service for everyone. Worst case, you pay for the cost of the mistake irrespective of blame.
Leap of faith
Conflict, feels frustrating, totally agree. And intentions and actions get lost in all the noise. You could avoid the problem altogether, by applying a quick fix, cut off your losses, lose one customer, etc. That is your prerogative.
I invite you to consider the way of understanding. Give an honest effort to understand the customer, colleague, family member, boss, or friend. Let’s not point fingers. People aren’t all bad. Yes, we all make mistakes at some point. And it would feel unfair to snub the majority, based on a few poor decisions.
Whatever the decision, let’s choose to do better.
