Supervisor Foundations · Lesson 7.6
WHEN THE CUSTOMER WAS WRONG
Customers can misunderstand.
They can remember events incorrectly.
They can misinterpret policy.
They can demand something the employee is not authorized to provide.
They can also make unfair accusations.
A supervisor should not force the employee to apologize for something they did not do simply to make the customer happy.
Poor
Customer: “She refused to give me the discount.”
Supervisor: “Apologize to the customer.”
Employee: “But the promotion ended yesterday.”
Supervisor: “It doesn’t matter. The customer is always right.”
Better
“I’ve checked the promotion details. The discount ended yesterday, so the employee was correct not to apply it. I’m sorry the information was unclear. Let me explain the current options.”
WORKPLACE EXAMPLES
EXAMPLE 1 — HOTEL
Guest says employee “refused” late checkout.
Hotel was fully booked and employee had no authority to approve it.
EXAMPLE 2 — SCHOOL
Parent says staff member refused to release confidential information.
The employee followed the required privacy boundary.
EXAMPLE 3 — RETAIL
Customer says cashier accused them of dishonesty.
Review shows the cashier simply requested the required receipt.
EXAMPLE 4 — RESTAURANT
Customer insists a dish contained an ingredient that the kitchen record confirms was not used.
The supervisor should respond respectfully without falsely blaming staff.
Remember
Respecting a customer does not require agreeing with an inaccurate accusation.
Workplace action
Practice: “I understand why you’re frustrated. I’ve reviewed the information, and here is what we can confirm.”
Quick Check
A customer complains because an employee followed a legitimate policy correctly. What should the supervisor do?