When Do Customer Demands Become Too Much?

The phrase "Customers are always right" doesn't really appeal to me. Yes you do need their business but when does it become too much? I have the answer for you!

I work at an insurance company and about a week ago, we received a call from our insured saying that she wanted her car totaled instead of getting repaired. Just so you know, this insurance company is very big on customer service and we have totaled many cars in the past for our insured. We were going to do it until she gave us her claim number and we found out that her car is brand new and is worth over $50,000 and the damages on her car is only $8,000. Of course, we aren't going to do it. The reason she gave us was she doesn't think that her car is safe anymore and that her car won't hold its value because of the accident. Crazy? Yes I do think so. No car holds its value. Right when you drive it off the lot, you start losing thousands of dollars on it. So to make the story short, we didn't total her car and she started saying that she's going to change insurance companies and that our customer service is bad and we should always put our customers needs first.

Also, about a month ago we had another insured call saying that he doesn't want his car totaled. He had a 2004 Lotus Elise and he said that it is worth $70,000 and that's the only amount he will accept. We we're only offering him $25,000 for it because that's the blue book price of his car. Here's the thing, if you add anything special to your car like rims or a body kit, you have to let your insurance company know because a typical insurance doesn't include those. Well he didn't do that so there's really nothing we can do for him. He was upset, of course, and told us that he will change insurance companies just like everybody else.

Lastly, a few days ago, I received a phone call from a woman who got in a car accident and had her car in the shop. She received a rental car for the price that she was paying for her rental coverage which was $20 per month. She was very unhappy because she was driving a brand new Mercedes Benz and she said that we need to give her the same car that she owns. She told us that she refuses to drive a Chevrolet because it's embarrassing for her. Crazy? Yes, very much so! She wanted the same car but she wasn't willing to pay the extra amount that the rental car actually costs. She said that's why she was paying rental coverage monthly. Does anybody ever read their policy? I think not.

So my question again is, when does customers demands become too much? We can't make everyone happy, that's impossible! Plus a lot of people just demand too much. Customers are important but they aren't always right, in my opinion. They become unreasonable most of the time, especially in the insurance business. If you refuse to give them what they want and what they demand, they threaten you and tells you that they will tell their friends and we will lose a lot of customers. Some even say that they will tell everyone until the company actually closes.