Have you had an experience when you, the customer, came last?

In North American culture, it’s understood that the customer comes first, and that customer satisfaction is the #1 priority for succeeding in business. If a someone’s treated shabbily or otherwise has a bad experience, that person will never return. That customer will also spread the (bad) word among friends, family, and co-workers and damage the business’s reputation.

Last weekend, I was spending quite a bit of money at a beauty salon. It wasn’t a very warm day, but the air conditioning was blasting inside the salon. I was so cold that I was shivering. I asked—politely but firmly—to have the a/c turned down. A number of the salon’s workers, including its owner, refused and said that they get hot when they move around and use hair dryers. In other words, they told me that their comfort was much more important than the comfort of a paying customer! One employee even draped a towel around my shoulders, rather than adjust the a/c, so that I wouldn’t be so cold!

A few minutes later, the owner thought it over and did adjust the a/c. But, the experience left me annoyed. The response should have been, “Sorry about that. We’ll take care of it right away.”

Does anyone else have a similar story to tell?