--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Treat [the customer] as guests when they…" description: "\"Treat [the customer] as guests when they come and when they go, whether or not they buy. Give them all that can be given fairly, on the principle that ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/521/harry-gordon-selfridge-34370_customer_treat-the-customer-as-guests-when-they-c_326104.png" --- # Treat \[the customer\] as guests when they come and when… ![“Treat [the customer] as guests when they come and when they go, whether or not they buy. Give them all that can be given fairly, on the principle that ‘to him that giveth shall be given’. Remember always that the recollection of quality remains long after the price is forgotten. Then your business…” quote by Harry Gordon Selfridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/521/harry-gordon-selfridge-34370_customer_treat-the-customer-as-guests-when-they-c_326104.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/521/harry-gordon-selfridge-34370_customer_treat-the-customer-as-guests-when-they-c_326104.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/521/harry-gordon-selfridge-34370_customer_treat-the-customer-as-guests-when-they-c_326104.png) > “Treat \[the customer\] as guests when they come and when they go, whether or not they buy. Give them all that can be given fairly, on the principle that ‘to him that giveth shall be given’. Remember always that the recollection of quality remains long after the price is forgotten. Then your business will prosper by a natural process.” [Harry Gordon Selfridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-gordon-selfridge/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Treat customers with genuine hospitality and fairness; lasting quality perception outweighs price, leading to natural business growth. **In simple terms:** Serve customers well; quality endures. Key Takeaway Prioritize fair, quality service. Themes customer service hospitality quality Mood professional empathetic Type advice business. When to use this quote - retail - hospitality - client relations - brand reputation - long‑term profit Key Concepts business ethics reciprocity Questions to Reflect On - How can you maintain generosity while staying profitable? - What small gestures create lasting impressions? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on fairness may reduce profit margins if not balanced. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Buy Given](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/buy-given-3063229/) [Customer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/customer/) [Customer Guests](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/customer-guests-3063228/) [Customers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/customers/) [Forgotten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forgotten/) [Given](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/given/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Guests](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/guests/) [Guests Come](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/guests-come-3063230/) [Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long/) [Natural](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/natural/) [Principle Giveth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/principle-giveth-3063231/) [Principles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/principles/) [Process](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/process/) [Quality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quality/) [Recollection](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/recollection/) [Remains](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remains/) [Remember](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remember/) [Treat Customer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/treat-customer-3063227/) [Treats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/treats/) ## Related quotes > [It's funny, when guests come over to the house, they want to see my gold medal first and my U.S. Open trophy second.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-rose/it-s-funny-when-guests-come-over-to-the-house-they-want-to-see-my/) [Justin Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-rose/) > [“Hey—we have a problem. You have some unexpected guests down at the gate. You should go check it out.” Guests? Who would come here…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-chase/hey-we-have-a-problem-you-have-some-unexpected-guests-down-at-the/) [Emma Chase](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-chase/) > [I like when guests come over early and we chop veggies and talk and play music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stamos/i-like-when-guests-come-over-early-and-we-chop-veggies-and-talk-and/) [John Stamos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stamos/) > [To achieve consistently terrific customer service, you must hire wonderful people who believe in your company's goals, habitually do better than the norm and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-branson/to-achieve-consistently-terrific-customer-service-you-must-hire/) [Richard Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-branson/) > [Sales is the most important aspect of a company, which in turn is about how well you treat your customer and stay ahead of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-cuban/sales-is-the-most-important-aspect-of-a-company-which-in-turn-is/) [Mark Cuban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-cuban/) > [Treat customer support as a product.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-rabois/treat-customer-support-as-a-product/) [Keith Rabois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-rabois/) > [Treat the customer as an appreciating asset.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-peters/treat-the-customer-as-an-appreciating-asset/) [Tom Peters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-peters/) > [Advancing bourgeois society liquidates memory, time, recollection as irrational leftovers of the past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodor-adorno/advancing-bourgeois-society-liquidates-memory-time-recollection-as/) [Theodor Adorno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodor-adorno/) > [At length weariness succeeds to labor, and the mind lies at ease in the contemplation of her own attainments without any desire of new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/at-length-weariness-succeeds-to-labor-and-the-mind-lies-at-ease-in/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [A poet ought not to pick nature's pocket. Let him borrow, and so borrow as to repay by the very act of borrowing. Examine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-taylor-coleridge/a-poet-ought-not-to-pick-nature-s-pocket-let-him-borrow-and-so-borrow/) [Samuel Taylor Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-taylor-coleridge/) > [“No treasure house of recollection, no wealth of experience, no accumulated wisdom to pass on. What are we, if not an accumulation of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-j-watson/no-treasure-house-of-recollection-no-wealth-of-experience-no/) [S.J. Watson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-j-watson/) > [Old age likes to dwell in the recollections of the past, and, mistaking, the speedy march of years, often is inclined to take the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lajos-kossuth/old-age-likes-to-dwell-in-the-recollections-of-the-past-and-mistaking/) [Lajos Kossuth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lajos-kossuth/) > [To have given pleasure to one human being is a recollection that sweetens life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-repplier/to-have-given-pleasure-to-one-human-being-is-a-recollection-that/) [Agnes Repplier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-repplier/) > [The tortures of present death disturb him not, but the recollection of his fall, fills him with a holy sorrow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-strachan/the-tortures-of-present-death-disturb-him-not-but-the-recollection-of/) [John Strachan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-strachan/) > [Above Coblentz almost every mountain has a ruin and a legend. One feels everywhere the spirit of the past, and its stirring recollections come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bayard-taylor/above-coblentz-almost-every-mountain-has-a-ruin-and-a-legend-one/) [Bayard Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bayard-taylor/) ## More by Harry Gordon Selfridge > [“People will sit up and take notice of you if you will sit up and take notice of what makes them sit up and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-gordon-selfridge/people-will-sit-up-and-take-notice-of-you-if-you-will-sit-up-and-take/) [harry gordon selfridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-gordon-selfridge/) > [There are no hard times for good ideas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-gordon-selfridge/there-are-no-hard-times-for-good-ideas/) [Harry Gordon Selfridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-gordon-selfridge/) > [The boss says 'Go'; the leader says 'Let's go!'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-gordon-selfridge/the-boss-says-go-the-leader-says-let-s-go/) [Harry Gordon Selfridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-gordon-selfridge/) > [The consumer is always right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-gordon-selfridge/the-consumer-is-always-right/) [Harry Gordon Selfridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-gordon-selfridge/) > [The boss drives people; the leader coaches them. The boss depends on authority; the leader on good will. The boss inspires fear; the leader…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-gordon-selfridge/the-boss-drives-people-the-leader-coaches-them-the-boss-depends-on/) [Harry Gordon Selfridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-gordon-selfridge/) > [The boss inspires fear; the leader inspires enthusiasm. The boss says 'I'; The leader says 'We'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-gordon-selfridge/the-boss-inspires-fear-the-leader-inspires-enthusiasm-the-boss-says-i/) [Harry Gordon Selfridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-gordon-selfridge/) > [Excite the mind, and the hand will reach for the pocket.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-gordon-selfridge/excite-the-mind-and-the-hand-will-reach-for-the-pocket/) [Harry Gordon Selfridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-gordon-selfridge/) > [The customer is always right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-gordon-selfridge/the-customer-is-always-right/) [Harry Gordon Selfridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-gordon-selfridge/) > [Whenever I may be tempted to slack up and let the business run for awhile on its own impetus, I picture my competitor sitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-gordon-selfridge/whenever-i-may-be-tempted-to-slack-up-and-let-the-business-run-for/) [Harry Gordon Selfridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-gordon-selfridge/) > [The boss depends on authority; the leader on goodwill.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-gordon-selfridge/the-boss-depends-on-authority-the-leader-on-goodwill/) [Harry Gordon Selfridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-gordon-selfridge/) > [Get the confidence of the public and you will have no difficulty in getting their patronage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-gordon-selfridge/get-the-confidence-of-the-public-and-you-will-have-no-difficulty-in/) [Harry Gordon Selfridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-gordon-selfridge/) > [The boss drives people; The leader coaches them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-gordon-selfridge/the-boss-drives-people-the-leader-coaches-them/) [Harry Gordon Selfridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-gordon-selfridge/) > [The boss says 'I'; the leader, 'we'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-gordon-selfridge/the-boss-says-i-the-leader-we/) [Harry Gordon Selfridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-gordon-selfridge/) [Explore all 14 Harry Gordon Selfridge quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-gordon-selfridge/) ## More Customer quotes > [“Start a business, not a startup”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/start-a-business-not-a-startup/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Amongst the financial Twitterati, the term 'muppets' has come to describe any client used and abused by some financial predator. I've adopted the term…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-ritholtz/amongst-the-financial-twitterati-the-term-muppets-has-come-to/) [Barry Ritholtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-ritholtz/) > [Many early-stage entrepreneurs make one simple mistake: Describing this 'big picture' in vague concepts and words.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunil-nagaraj/many-early-stage-entrepreneurs-make-one-simple-mistake-describing/) [Sunil Nagaraj](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunil-nagaraj/) > [The purpose of this book is to supply, in the form suitable for laymen, guidance in the adoption and execution of an investment policy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-graham/the-purpose-of-this-book-is-to-supply-in-the-form-suitable-for-laymen/) [Benjamin Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-graham/) > [Don't think OF the market. Think AS the market.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-fishman/don-t-think-of-the-market-think-as-the-market/) [Michael Fishman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-fishman/) > [If Wall Street crashes, does Main Street follow? Not necessarily.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-bernanke/if-wall-street-crashes-does-main-street-follow-not-necessarily/) [Ben Bernanke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-bernanke/) > [The exact details of how you practice value investing will vary investor to investor, but the fundamental principle of scouring the world, looking for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whitney-tilson/the-exact-details-of-how-you-practice-value-investing-will-vary/) [Whitney Tilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whitney-tilson/) > [The best way to hold customers is to constantly figure out how to give them more for less.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-kotler/the-best-way-to-hold-customers-is-to-constantly-figure-out-how-to/) [Philip Kotler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-kotler/) > [Perhaps the most important reason to be skeptical of government inflation numbers is that the government, like a fox campaigning to guard a hen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-schiff/perhaps-the-most-important-reason-to-be-skeptical-of-government/) [Peter Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-schiff/) > [When the dollar collapses, it's not doing it in a vacuum. If the dollar loses value, it's doing so relative to some other currency.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-schiff/when-the-dollar-collapses-it-s-not-doing-it-in-a-vacuum-if-the-dollar/) [Peter Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-schiff/) > [Corporations invest in sophisticated CRM, or Customer Relationship Management, programs to effectively oversee their relationship with their customers at every point during the buying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-ostrofsky/corporations-invest-in-sophisticated-crm-or-customer-relationship/) [Marc Ostrofsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-ostrofsky/) > [I believe confusion is good. Worldwide market leaders gain when there is confusion in the market.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/subhash-chandra/i-believe-confusion-is-good-worldwide-market-leaders-gain-when-there/) [Subhash Chandra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/subhash-chandra/) > [Damn inflation, full speed ahead,' Greenspan has said in both action and word. I think an investor should believe him and invest accordingly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gross/damn-inflation-full-speed-ahead-greenspan-has-said-in-both-action-and/) [Bill Gross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gross/) > [“When companies get big, they devote most of their care and feeding to the business that got them big. 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