--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The Customer isn't always right…" description: "\"“The Customer isn't always right. Sometimes the customer is an asshole. That's the first rule of retail.”\" — Kelly Link" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/990/kelly-link-9393_quote_the-customer-isn-t-always-right-sometime_980484.jpg" --- # The Customer isn't always right. Sometimes the customer is… ![“The Customer isn't always right. Sometimes the customer is an asshole. That's the first rule of retail.” quote by Kelly Link](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/990/kelly-link-9393_quote_the-customer-isn-t-always-right-sometime_980484.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/990/kelly-link-9393_quote_the-customer-isn-t-always-right-sometime_980484.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/990/kelly-link-9393_quote_the-customer-isn-t-always-right-sometime_980484.jpg) > ““The Customer isn't always right. Sometimes the customer is an asshole. That's the first rule of retail.”” [Kelly Link](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-link/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Customers can be unreasonable; staff must set boundaries for health and service quality. **In simple terms:** Customers aren’t always right. Key Takeaway Set clear service limits. Themes customer service boundaries workplace health retail communication Mood frustrated pragmatic Type advice humorous When to use this quote - training staff - policy guidelines - feedback loops - support systems Key Concepts assertiveness emotional labor service ethics Questions to Reflect On - When should staff enforce boundaries? - How to train staff for difficult interactions? A Different Perspective Balancing customer satisfaction with employee wellbeing is tricky. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Customer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/customer/) ## Related quotes > [The Customer isn't always right. Sometimes the customer is an a\*\*hole. That's the first rule of retail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-link/the-customer-isn-t-always-right-sometimes-the-customer-is-an-a-hole/) [Kelly Link](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-link/) > [The No Asshole Rule: Building a Civilized Workplace and Surviving One That Isn’t.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-no-asshole-rule-building-a-civilized-workplace-and-surviving-one/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You can't drag people from understanding to action. A customer isn't actually at the last mile if you're the one dragging her to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-p-m-barnett/you-can-t-drag-people-from-understanding-to-action-a-customer-isn-t/) [Thomas P.M. Barnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-p-m-barnett/) > [My customer isn't wrapped up in labels and money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsey-johnson/my-customer-isn-t-wrapped-up-in-labels-and-money/) [Betsey Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsey-johnson/) > [“Always do what is right with the customer. What you sow now, you will harvest later.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timi-nadela/always-do-what-is-right-with-the-customer-what-you-sow-now-you-will/) [Timi Nadela](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timi-nadela/) > [Just do what's right for the customer, and you'll be okay.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-kawasaki/just-do-what-s-right-for-the-customer-and-you-ll-be-okay/) [Guy Kawasaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-kawasaki/) > [“How do you set the right price for the right customer at the right time in the right channel?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-cross/how-do-you-set-the-right-price-for-the-right-customer-at-the-right/) Bill Cross > [Customer conversion is dependent on the right customer conversation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rasheed-ogunlaru/customer-conversion-is-dependent-on-the-right-customer-conversation/) [Rasheed Ogunlaru](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rasheed-ogunlaru/) > [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/) > [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/) > [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 > [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/) > [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/) > [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/) > [“Start a business, not a startup”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/start-a-business-not-a-startup/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Kelly Link > [I spend a lot of time loathing the sentences that I put down on the page. Once I'm past that phase, it doesn't really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-link/i-spend-a-lot-of-time-loathing-the-sentences-that-i-put-down-on-the/) [Kelly Link](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-link/) > [In terms of style, too, I think I've been working with a somewhat limited -- although intentionally limited -- set of tools. So I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-link/in-terms-of-style-too-i-think-i-ve-been-working-with-a-somewhat/) [Kelly Link](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-link/) > [I didn't do anything as active as deciding that I wanted to be a writer. For one thing, I didn't feel like I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-link/i-didn-t-do-anything-as-active-as-deciding-that-i-wanted-to-be-a/) [Kelly Link](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-link/) > [“When his writing is going well, Gordon Strangle Mars likes to wake up at 6 a.m. and go out driving. He works out new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-link/when-his-writing-is-going-well-gordon-strangle-mars-likes-to-wake-up/) [Kelly Link](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-link/) > [It's very unlikely that a writer is going to make a living by writing. So then the question is: how do you balance work,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-link/it-s-very-unlikely-that-a-writer-is-going-to-make-a-living-by-writing/) [Kelly Link](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-link/) > [Most of the things that I remember from childhood wouldn't make a particularly good story: rescuing worms during rainstorms, our schnauzer attacking a wheel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-link/most-of-the-things-that-i-remember-from-childhood-wouldn-t-make-a/) [Kelly Link](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-link/) > [The beloved may be treacherous, greasy-headed and given to evil habits, or else it can be a man in his late forties who works…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-link/the-beloved-may-be-treacherous-greasy-headed-and-given-to-evil-habits/) [Kelly Link](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-link/) > [“Tell me which you could sooner do without, love or water.” “What do you mean?” “I mean, could you live without love, or could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-link/tell-me-which-you-could-sooner-do-without-love-or-water-what-do-you/) [Kelly Link](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-link/) > [You were going to travel for love, without shoes, or cloak, or common sense. This is one of the things a woman can do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-link/you-were-going-to-travel-for-love-without-shoes-or-cloak-or-common/) [Kelly Link](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-link/) > [A vampire is a flexible metaphor. You know, death, sex, change, stagnation, loss of self, loss of agency, having to keep one's real self…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-link/a-vampire-is-a-flexible-metaphor-you-know-death-sex-change-stagnation/) [Kelly Link](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-link/) > [“If you were to say a witch's chess set instead of a witch's family , there would be some truth in that. Perhaps this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-link/if-you-were-to-say-a-witch-s-chess-set-instead-of-a-witch-s-family/) [Kelly Link](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-link/) > [“Hildy has resigned herself to this, that life is a series of sudden disappearences, leavetakings without the proper good-byes. Someday she too might vanish.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-link/hildy-has-resigned-herself-to-this-that-life-is-a-series-of-sudden/) [Kelly Link](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-link/) > [“Jeremy and Karl and Elizabeth have known each other since the first day of kindergarten. Amy and Talis are a year younger...Now the five…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-link/jeremy-and-karl-and-elizabeth-have-known-each-other-since-the-first/) [Kelly Link](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-link/) > [I built a cannon out of ice, and wrapped myself in the funeral carpet which my husbands and wives had woven for me out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-link/i-built-a-cannon-out-of-ice-and-wrapped-myself-in-the-funeral-carpet/) [Kelly Link](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-link/) > [“This is the list you carry in your pocket, of the things you plan to say to Kay, when you find him, if you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-link/this-is-the-list-you-carry-in-your-pocket-of-the-things-you-plan-to/) [Kelly Link](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-link/) [Explore all 70 Kelly Link quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-link/) ## 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 > [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. This is as it should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-schmidt/when-companies-get-big-they-devote-most-of-their-care-and-feeding-to/) [Eric Schmidt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-schmidt/) > [“Salesmanship is usually the art of making it the prospect’s problem, the salesperson’s need or desire to earn money.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/salesmanship-is-usually-the-art-of-making-it-the-prospect-s-problem/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) [Browse all 9,257 Customer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/customer/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The Customer isn't always right. Sometimes the customer is an asshole. 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