I’m going to say something that might sound a little controversial, but I’ll explain what I mean after I say it. I’m so tired of hearing the exact phrase repeated over and over again by every leader and employee in the customer service space: ‘The customer is always right.’

Now hear me out. Your customers should always be at the center of your customer service efforts, but I believe ‘the customer is always right’ is bad advice. I’m sure Harry Gordon Selfridge, the person who coined the phrase in 1909, had good intentions when he came up with it, but a century of misuse has tainted its meaning and turned it into a catalyst for sabotage for both employees and customers.

Leaders often use it as a mechanism that opens up their employees to verbal and emotional abuse from customers, and employees now associate this phrase with a toxic, unsupportive workplace. It also gives abrasive customers an unfair advantage over your business when let’s face it; the customer might not always be right. And all of this ends up having the opposite effect: subpar customer service.

There is nothing more critical to a company’s success than its customer service efforts, which is why we need to stop building our outreach on the back of ‘the customer is always right.’ For leaders who have relied on this model for far too long, I have a few suggestions for how to reexamine your customer service so that you can influence even stronger relationships between your customers and your employees/brand.

1. Don’t give your customers what they want. Give them what they need

Most brands think they know what their customers want, but this differs from what your customers actually need. Take my industry, for example. As a marketing executive at Spotify, it would make sense for me to surmise that my customers want an easy, affordable way to listen to any artist they want, whenever they want. While this isn’t necessarily wrong, it’s not what they need.

If we only made Spotify convenient and affordable with endless listening options and stopped there, we’d appease customers in the short term, but we’d eventually lose them to other music streaming platforms. Instead, our customers need a hyper-personalized listening experience — playlists and podcasts that are curated for every one of our users.

As a result, our customer service efforts bleed into our bigger company initiatives. We rely on innovations like machine learning, audio analysis, and artificial intelligence to hyper-personalize our features. Additionally, to meet the needs of all of our customers worldwide, we must also fulfill our dedication to a more inclusive organization. This has inspired global initiatives like Frequency, ensuring Black creators remain at the forefront of our platform.

Customer service must be more meaningful than throwing a few bones to your customers to keep them happy. Instead, it’s about transformative efforts that show customers you’re listening to their needs and how your business can continue to impact their lives in a significant way.

2. Create an ongoing dialogue

When some companies talk to their employees about customer service, they frame it as their ability to handle one-off inquiries in a positive, professional manner. Responsiveness is vital, especially on social media, but customer engagement shouldn’t be reactive; it should be proactive. This means opening up dialogue to build a community around your brand.

Our employees use our social media platforms, our message boards, and our website to engage with customers as much as possible, and we do it in our own signature style. It’s not only about ensuring we are accessible at all times to offer quick, helpful guidance to our customers; it’s also about individualizing our outreach. And one way we do this is by leveraging what we know: curated playlists. There was one instance, for example, where one of our customers gave us a kind review, and to thank them for their kind words, one of our team members created a playlist that they made just for them. 

Does this take more effort on our end? Of course. But isn’t that the point? We rely on technology to help make our lives more convenient, and it does, but there are some instances where the human touch makes more sense than an automated message — like when talking to your customers. When we take a creative approach to our outreach efforts, we build a community rather than just responding to a customer when they want us to address a question or concern. And this is what turns people into loyal customers and then into brand ambassadors. 

As a brand, you will be judged by your customer service. Stop punishing employees with the mantra that ‘the customer is always right’ because this serves no one in the end. Customer service isn’t as black and white as this. When we think of how we can meaningfully and intentionally do what’s best for our customers, we can drive the kind of customer engagement that keeps everyone happy.

Golf has a reputation for being a very easy, laid-back sport. Some may even call it boring, although I find that a little harsh, but I understand it’s not for everyone. But I’m here to tell you that golf isn’t only one of the most challenging games you can play, but arguably one of the most frustrating.

Even golf legend Arnold Palmer has repeated this same sentiment, famously saying that “Golf is deceptively simple and endlessly complicated.” In other sports, you’re usually competing against one or numerous opponents. If you lose, it could be because the other side was stronger, had more endurance than you, or was more cunning. But in golf, you’re competing against yourself, the course, and the weather. Sure, you might be trying to outperform your competitors, but how well you play is entirely contingent on you and you alone.

Like in business, your ultimate fate is in your hands. I know — comparing golf to business might seem a bit absurd, but I’m a firm believer that some of business’ greatest lessons come from outside the office. Both exciting and humbling, below are some of the biggest lessons I’ve learned from golf that have helped me grow in my career.

Practice Makes Perfect

The only way to improve your game is to get out on the green as much as you can. Sometimes life, busy schedules, and bad weather can get in the way, but golfers who are committed to greatness will find time to get some practice in, whether that’s a quick trip to an indoor course or taking a few minutes out of your day to practice on an online golf simulator.

The goal isn’t to spend hours out on the course but to consistently and intentionally dedicate as much time as you can to your passion, even if it’s only a few minutes every day. The same is true in leadership. No one is “born” a leader, no matter how innate their abilities seem to be. Rather, great leadership requires a continuous journey of professional development.

Every time you lead your team through an issue or emergency, for example, be cognizant of what you did well and what you could have done better. Put this into practice the next time you run into a problem and, soon enough, you’ll find that crisis management will become second nature to you.

You should constantly strive to be better. Seek mentorship from a fellow colleague or another professional in your industry. Take advantage of any career development programs offered through your organization, or seek these opportunities outside of the workplace. Even if you’ve held the same position for decades, there will always be room for improvement.

But You Don’t Always Have to be Perfect

Golf is hard. It may not be physically demanding, but it can be mentally tedious. The second you start thinking you’re perfect is when you’ll play the worst game of your life. This is why golf is such a humbling sport.

You’re going to miss shots or hit hazards during gameplay; it’s impossible to play a perfect round every time. How you react in these moments is key to your success. If you’re too focused on being perfect, you’re going to get flustered when you make even the smallest mistakes, which will only lead to a greater number of bigger mistakes. It’s the same thing in business.

Every leader makes mistakes, from startup entrepreneurs to the world’s richest CEOs. No one achieves success by being perfect; they excel by taking risks, learning from their mistakes, and pushing themselves outside of their comfort zones. I once read a quote from the former CEO of IBM, Tom Watson, that said: “If you want to increase your success rate, double your failure rate.” It’s stuck with me ever since.

We can only become the leaders we all dream of being when we stop convincing ourselves we need to be perfect.

Take Time to Relax and Refresh

One of my favorite parts of golfing is the opportunity to go outside and enjoy the fresh air. I love it so much I opt out of using golf carts whenever possible so I can walk the course. It’s a time for me to leave all my outside worries and stressors behind and, instead, put all my focus into the game. Even though golf can be incredibly frustrating sometimes, it’s also the perfect way to relax and refresh. Even when I play my worst, I always leave feeling better than when I arrived.

As leaders, we spend all of our time focused on our duties, our team members, and the state of the business. Most of our days consist of meetings, while the other half involves putting out haphazard fires that happen throughout the day. If we don’t pull ourselves away from this environment from time to time, we make ourselves susceptible to burnout and stagnancy.

Leaders need to find time away from their responsibilities and their desks. Innovation and growth can’t flourish if we don’t give ourselves some mental reprieve from our jobs. Mine happens to be golf, but find the thing that allows you to reset yourself.

Golf has been pivotal to my career and shaping who I am as a leader. Whether you love golf or not isn’t the point. The point is that there’s inspiration and insight to be found in anything you do. Use this to influence every aspect of your life. You’ll be surprised just how much you can learn from the little things.