Purchasing the Privilege of being 'Right'...

Mr. Root, that friend of mine with the nice hounddog, recently wrote about some of the proclivities of the consuming public. It was inspired by his experiences at the art gallery where he works. He mentioned how the old adage "the customer's always right" is stupid and wrong.

I worked in retail for roughly seven years and for what it's worth, here's my two cents on it. Firstly, the customer thinks that every single penny above the cost of production and distribution of a product is pure profit. Perhaps this is why they so often think services should be free. What could account for the difference? - The fact that although not Always right, the customer is Often right.

You see, if you buy my widgets, produced at JCo. for example at a price of $8, you may think the markup from the $2 it took to make and distribute the widget is excessive. Consider that it also costs on average $1 to pay the person who sets the widget up for you. Consider next that the actual group selling it, needs to make a small profit, say $1.

Now, if by some chance it breaks you can come back to me (or my representative at the place of purchase) and simply get a new one, $2. There are other costs, but let's ignore them for a moment and say they don't exist. One can see that in truly bad circumstance the replacement widget would also have to break to prevent me from making my measly $2. This Does happen, occaisionally.

I mention all of this by way of pointing out that the customer, instead of Automatically being right, has Purchased the privilege of being right - even when they have no clue what the realities of the matter might be*. As true as this is (completely), one must keep in mind that the customer must first pay over their money to be right.

Didja get that? At purchase, you have given enough money that I can replace the widget without a loss to me. No loss to me = your privilege of being right.
"Hey this thing sucks! I want another!"**
"Here ya go!"
-no loss.

That said, I offer an important reminder to the consumer. Most widgets can be had most anywhere. It is Your responsability alone to prove that you bought the widget and where said transaction took place. Yours, see? Because it's not so much that retail workers aren't psychic. To a surprising extent they are. They have to be, sometimes. No the real issue is that retail staff are rarely paid more than $10/h. This amount is certainly enough for a company to induce people to show caring and concern for those who have paid, but nowhere near enough to give two shakes of the goat's tail if a consumer can't even produce the receipt that states clearly: Retain Receipt.

Now this probably sounds harsh and mean-spirited, but even to this there is a response. Look, people, these are the laws of the land. Don't pretend you didn't grow up with them. This is the environment you lived in and fostered. That 19 year-old girl at the cash-desk in Sears? You Taught her these things, Raised her to work in this arena. So stop acting so shocked and distressed, because anyone who ever worked retail Knows you're a faker.

Even after buying the privilege of being right, it is important to remember that your 'rights' are still not Absolute. A receipt does not allow you to kill, maim or crucify anyone. Again, the onus is on the consumer to ask a few basic questions about what they are buying and how the retailer is going to cover them.

Finally, to all the truly Great Consumers (there are Many) I would like to say Thanks
"Thanks for being great consumers and not complaining about the rules of a game. You are what makes it all worthwhile."

*this is by far the most common scenario in retail.
**astoundingly common fault in the North American mind. Who knows why?