We’ve lost the plot

Jenna rant #1939485

Okay, I think we have officially lost the plot with “the customer is always right.”

And I’ve probably avoided saying this publicly for six years because, as a business owner, there’s always that little voice in your head going:

“Don’t say anything. Someone will screenshot it. Someone will get mad. Someone will decide you hate customers.” 😂

Whatever. I’m over it.

Because some of the behavior happening behind the scenes between BUSINESS OWNERS and other businesses is actually wild to me.

And I’m not talking about a company hiding cancellation terms.

I’m not talking about making it impossible to cancel.

I’m not talking about sneaking charges onto someone’s card.

Businesses should be transparent.

They should honor their agreements.

They should treat customers well.

Obviously.

I’m talking about this:

You sign up for a recurring subscription.

You enter your credit card.

You agree to the terms.

You authorize the payment.

You use the product.

You forget to cancel.

The subscription renews exactly when it told you it would.

And then the business gets an email that basically says:

“Cancel this immediately.”

“Disable all future billing.”

“Refund the charge.”

“Confirm all of this in writing.”

Excuse me? 😂

YOU forgot to cancel.

And what makes this especially insane to me is that almost every one of our customers IS A BUSINESS OWNER.

Like… what are we doing here?

If one of YOUR clients signed your agreement, agreed to your payment terms, forgot about something they were responsible for and then emailed you a list of demands like YOU had done something wrong…

you would be freaking annoyed.

You know you would.

And then sometimes comes my absolute favorite part.

The chargeback.

“Fraudulent.”

Ma’am.

Where was the fraud? 😭

At what exact point in the process did we commit fraud?

Was it when YOU found our website?

When YOU signed up?

When YOU typed in your credit card number?

When YOU clicked the button saying you authorized the charge?

We did not break into your house.

We did not find your wallet.

We did not pull out your credit card and secretly enroll you in our software under the cover of darkness.

You subscribed.

The subscription subscribed.

That is not fraud. 😂

And I think this points to a much bigger problem.

Somewhere along the way, “provide great customer service” turned into:

The customer should never have to take responsibility for anything.

And I don’t agree with that.

Sometimes the business screws up.

The business should own it.

Sometimes the customer screws up.

The customer should own it.

That is how adults doing business with other adults should work.

And can I tell you something?

We have made exceptions to our policies MANY times.

Because people are human.

People forget.

Things happen.

Sometimes someone sends an email that says:

“Hey, I totally screwed this up. I meant to cancel and forgot. I know that’s my fault and I know your policy says XYZ, but is there any chance you’d be willing to make an exception?”

You know what?

There is a very good chance I’m going to try to help that person.

Because they’re not pretending we wronged them.

They’re asking another human being for some grace.

BIG difference.

What I cannot wrap my head around is the business owner who expects their own customers to respect THEIR:

contracts,

payment terms,

cancellation policies,

retainers,

deposits,

deadlines,

and boundaries…

and then turns around and acts like those same concepts should disappear the second they become the customer.

Why? Seriously.

Why do we think SaaS companies are somehow different?

Because software delivered the thing instead of a coach?

Because there’s a login screen?

There are still people behind that company.

There is payroll.

There is support.

There are merchant fees.

There are developers.

There are operating costs.

There are actual humans running an actual business.

And I think business owners especially should know better.

So maybe before you send the four-paragraph demand… or file the “fraudulent” chargeback…

ask yourself:

If one of my clients did exactly what I’m about to do to this business, how would I feel about it?

Would you think:

“Totally fair. This was clearly my responsibility to fix.”

Or would you be sending screenshots to your business-owner friends going:

“YOU GUYS. Look at this email I just got.” 😂

Because I have a feeling I know the answer.

The customer is not always right.

The business is not always right either.

Sometimes one side made a mistake.

And whichever side made it should be able to say:

“Yep. That one was mine.”

I don’t think that’s bad customer service.

I think that’s basic accountability.

And frankly, I think we could use a little more of it.