Many service providers and businesses have prospered by giving excellent service inspired by the motto “the customer is always right.” It was popularized over 100 years ago by pioneering and successful retailers such as Harry Gordon Selfridge, Marshall Field, and John Wanamaker. In an era when misrepresentation and deception were common (caveat emptor), this was a phenomenal improvement in how business was conducted.

It still has great value today especially in transactional businesses like retail. But for professional service providers, it can be detrimental, indeed, even unethical to act as if the customer is always right.

Consider the doctor/patient relationship. It’s fine to assume the patient is always right about their desire to get better, e.g., to regain health, heal a wound, cure a disease, eliminate pain, etc. But if the patient insists on a treatment plan that the physician knows is deleterious, is that right? Obviously not. Patients – and customers – often want a solution that is not going to deliver the results they want. This happens in consulting regularly. As professional service providers, if we know that the solution a customer asks for is probably not going to deliver the results they want, the ethical thing to do is explain why. Another good saying that professionals use in these circumstances is “I could take your money, but I’m not sure that solution will deliver the results you want.” In many cases, the customer is not right because they simply don’t have the expertise to determine what the right solution should be.

It’s the responsibility of the professional service provider to determine the clients objectives and then make a recommendation about the best solution. It would be unethical to take the client’s money because “they are always right.” Give customers informed options. It’s still their choice to do as they please but, at least now, you have provided they with the benefit of your expertise to make an informed choice. To pretend that they are always right is just wrong.