07/10/2026
When did customer service become customer subservience?
This is something I think we need to talk about particularly those of us who are small business owners, sole traders, independents, self-employed, or simply employees trying to do our jobs.
Somewhere along the way, “the customer is always right” seems to have been twisted into “the customer can speak to you however they like, and you just have to take it.”
Why?
Running a business or providing a service does not mean surrendering your right to be treated with basic respect.
You can communicate clearly.
You can answer messages.
You can explain delays.
You can keep people updated.
You can bend over backwards to accommodate them.
And somehow, for some people, it’s still never enough.
They want it faster. They want more. They want constant updates. They want exceptions made. And, of course, they often want it cheaper, discounted or thrown in for free.
Yet at the same time, the person providing that product or service is expected to remain endlessly patient, endlessly apologetic and endlessly accommodating — regardless of how they’re being spoken to.
When did we decide that paying somebody money gives us the right to treat them as though they are beneath us?
There is a huge difference between having legitimate expectations as a customer and believing that purchasing something gives you ownership over another person’s time, dignity and patience.
Small businesses and sole traders especially are not faceless corporations. Behind that phone, email, invoice, order or service is often one person or a very small team trying to juggle customers, suppliers, costs, deadlines, admin, family life and everything else that comes with keeping a business going.
And yes, businesses should communicate.
Yes, they should deliver what they promise.
Yes, they should put things right when they genuinely get something wrong.
But respect works both ways.
Good customer service should never mean accepting rudeness, aggression, unreasonable demands or being spoken to like a servant.
Maybe we need to stop asking only, “Was the customer happy?”
And start asking:
“Did the customer behave reasonably too?”
Because being a paying customer gives you the right to expect a good product or service.
It does not give you the right to treat another human being however you please.
And perhaps the sooner more businesses feel confident enough to say that, the healthier the relationship between customers and the people serving them will become.
