Rant & Raves

Now this is one of the biggest questions that had ever been asked. Is the customer always right?

In a lot of corporation, you will hear the mantra that the customer is always right. Or you will hear some sales person telling you, ranting and preaching that the customer is always right. No matter how wrong the situation is, or how screw up your customer became, he is always right. Does that sound right to you?

For example: a customer bought something front your boutique shop. Two days later, she brought the shirt back to you, with signs of wearing and also some small stain, and demand an exchange because she said, “You packed the wrong shirt for me. I ordered the other one!” But she was the one who picked and picked through thousands of shirts and picked that particular one. You were there to witness it, and took the order. You are 1000% sure that you didn’t make any mistakes. So, is the customer still right?

What I mean is, no one is ALWAYS right. Unfortunately, a lot of bosses or managers will tell you that the customer is always right, and no matter what, if you fail to get the insight that the customer will not go wrong, then you are in deep shit. For me, this is a very unhealthy environment for personal growth because we will be hard-pressed by customers and supervisors that we will grow suppress and we will be depressed. Furthermore, the same customer who know how to take advantage of the situation will abuse again and again.

Let me say it out loud now: The customer is NOT ALWAYS right! Yup, you heard me correctly. The customer is NOT ALWAYS right.

What we need to do is to make the customers feel that they are always right.

I was thinking of dedicating one new blog for the things I have heard about the companies from my friends (working or worked there). There are just so many things that got my blood boiling because it seems like a lot of people do not know the fundamentals nor common sense. If I were to get one dollar for listening to the complaints from people about their bosses (or companies), my wealth will make Bill Gates pale in comparison.

First, those bosses like to reward the wrong behavior. For example, they want to cut down on the complaints, and those managers, in order to appear superior, will ask the staff to supress those customer complaints. At the end of the year, the managers will get an award from the boss for the department with the least complaints. Unfortunately, what these managers are doing are nothing but driving the customers away.

Secondly, the bosses like ass-kisser (or licker, in a sense). When a person can put words in a flowerly order and say all the right things, the bosses will think that this person must be damn good and trusted him in anyway he can. Unfortunately, if looking deeper and ignore the surface, one can clearly see that this ass-kisser is nothing but crap. He did not perform anything, and of all the time he was there, he has no performance to speak of, and he didn’t even accomplish a simple task. Yet he gained popularity and trust from the stupid boss. At the end of the day, the ass-kisser is promoted despite the fact that everyone, except the boss of course, in the company knew about the capability of this ass-kisser. He is egocentric, and he is “Mirror first, and window later” kind of guy. It means, when there’s a credit due, he’ll look into the mirror and says, “Here! I have done it (again)! I am doing such a good job! I planned everything, worked vigorously to get things done!” And when it comes to failure, he’ll look at the window and points “There! He was the one who have failed to secure the project. And she’s the one who failed to support me to get things done.”

In a simple sentence: He is the one who will take all the credit and he will never make any blunder or mistakes.

There are just too many instances to list down and I am not writing a novel, so I will just cut it short:

There are people out there who can do a much better job, more efficient, and more professional than those ass-kisser. They can go all the way out, self-motivating themselves to get the job done despite the challenges in the marketplace. The only one thing that they didn’t do is spending lots of time trying to kiss the bosses’ hairy dark ass (this is not a racist remark. If you have enough experience, you will know that the anus area is dark. Don’t ask me how I knew).

But who doesn’t like to listen to good things about ourselves? Unfortunately, this is not the way to grow a business. Brutal facts are, well, brutal and cruel. But that’s the way to grow the business. We have to face our weakness, know what we are doing wrong, and correct it right away so we can move further ahead. Nope. The bosses like those ass-kissers to fondle, caress, kiss, lick, squeeze and poke their asses.

Yet those bosses will wonder why they can become a bad company; high human resources turnover, lousy sales, bad margin, competition are getting ahead in marketshare, and the staff are not motivated. The bosses wanted the company to be great so they can pocket lots of money personally, yet they wonder why their companies are still mediocre.

Here is the sublime message: The bosses want the company to be great. But there is a difference between wanting for personal gain or for the good of the company.

Bad Average Good Great

Maybe, just maybe, the bosses can do something to turn the company from bad to average. But it is still an average company. Is there any chance to turn the company into a good company? Not impossible but highly unlikely with that kind of management style. Can they become a great company? Absolutely! If they change the boss and get a great leader.

Good is the enemy of Great - Jim Collins, from Good to Great

Here, I have said it. I can hear you say “But who are you?”

I am a nobody.

I was really bored at work and I had problem waking up because I was tired, both mentally and physically. I guess the fatigue is mainly caused by mental and emotional fatigue. I was really not motivated and there’s no more emotional challenges. Everyday is the same old task and the problems, while huge, but was totally uncessary. If they would do things differently, we don’t have to face this kind of stupid problems, and we could save time, money and improve the operation of the whole system.

Unfortunately, those people sitting behind a closed door think they can do things just by sitting inside the fancy offices, instead of meeting customers and know what the customers really want.

But what am I to complain? I don’t think my contribution is highly appreciated and those who are in charge want to exert their “power” and let everyone knows they are the bosses.

Hey, look at it this way. I am not complaining.

I will be out soon.