“The customer is king.”

This is perhaps one of the core tenets of customer service and sales, acting as the underlying principle that every guideline for interaction stems from. There isn’t a salesman or customer service representative in the world that doesn’t get told that phrase at least once in their careers. This holds true for any industry, even if they’re focused on providing a service, like payday loans.

On the surface, the phrase is telling business employees that the customer is always right and, as much as possible they should get exactly what they want for a reasonable cost. It also means that the personnel have to be courteous and respectful, displaying incredible amounts of patience, even when the customer is about to blow his top in rage at whatever perceived – or actual, as the case may be – indignity has been imposed upon him. There are other details that the phrase demands, as well.

Kings, traditionally, were informed by advisers and experts. The same applies to customers, who must often be advised and guided by the sales team. This means that the sales personnel must act as experts on the products and promotions of the company, providing any data that might be required for someone to make a final decision. For some companies, this can be relatively simple – how much information about bail bonds could there possibly be? However, some companies might have it more complicated – there is very little room for error when it comes to the finer details of an insurance policy.

However, just because someone is a “king” does not mean they can do as they please. Customers still have to pay, much like kings still needed to shell out money to pay for military campaigns or lavish palaces. The modern customer, much like a king, is still free to back out of any decision at his own discretion. Of course, that doesn’t mean that the salesman isn’t allowed to try and convince him otherwise.

Another detail to remember is that there are times when the customer is just plain wrong. When this happens, it really helps to remember that being a “king” has two sides to it. The first is that the salesman must be respectful in countering the customer’s misconceptions, no matter how far-fetched or stupid. The second is that the salesman actually needs to correct the misconception and make sure it is cleared up. Like a good royal adviser, the salesman should never allow a customer to make a choice based on what they know to be wrong.