October 2024 Part 9: Is the customer God?
In Japan, there is a saying that "The customer is God." This does not mean that you should treat customers as religious objects of faith. It means that businessmen should value their customers above all else. They should serve their customers with the utmost care and maximize customer satisfaction.
In English, there are slogans such as "Customer is King" and "Customer is always right," which are considered to be equivalent to "The customer is God" in Japan. These are often used as important slogans to improve customer satisfaction.
However, customers are not God. They are not kings. There are some awful customers. There are some customers who always say the wrong things. There are some customers who always complain. In some cases, it may be better not to deal with customers who are too bad.
There may be some customers who are like gods. We want to cherish our customers who always smile and happily purchase our products and services, and who steadily support our sales, as if they were our gods.
You probably don't want to deal with customers who complain a lot. But you may be able to get some valuable advice for improving your business from customers who complain. Listen humbly to what your customers have to say. Rather, actively seek out their opinions and advice. There may be a "voice of God" hidden in their opinions and advice that will dramatically improve your business.
Customers are sometimes God. God's voice is hidden in the voice of the customer. Businessmen should be humble and treat customers as if they were God.
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