Phrase Origins: The Customer is Always Right

People today think that the phrase, "the customer is always right," should be taken literal. A prime example of this is when McDonald's was sued because a lady spilled hot coffee in her lap when she was in her car, and had taken off the lid of the coffee cup.

The problem with this is that the origin of the phrase, "the customer is always right," wasn't meant to be literal. Instead, it was meant to be a slogan for a store. The phrase was used by the Chicago department store, Marshall Field's (now Macy's).

The Wisconsin born Harry Gordon Selfridge worked for Field where he learned the phrase. He used it in the United Kingdom when he founded London's Selfridges stores.

The idea of the phrase was to treat the customers as if they were right even when they weren't. It was the attitude that the employees were supposed to have towards the customers. It didn't mean that the customers were literally always right.

Because both men used the phrase, it was popular in the late 19^th century to the early 20^th century.

However, neither man can be credited with the idea. That goes to the Frenchman Cesar Ritz, who first said, "Le client n'a jamais tort." This means, "The customer is never wrong." Of course, it is not the phrase, "The customer is always right," but it is the same idea.

Source:

Martin, G. (n.d.). The customer is always right. The meanings and origins of sayings and phrases . Retrieved January 5, 2011, from http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/106700.html