The customer is always right
Meaning: In business, the customer's satisfaction takes priority.
Origin: A slogan of the great department-store owners around 1900. The earliest verified use is a 1905 Boston Globe article about the Chicago retailer Marshall Field, though it is just as often credited to Harry Gordon Selfridge, who worked for Field for two decades before opening his London store in 1909; nobody knows which of them coined it. The hotelier César Ritz is credited with the French version, "le client n'a jamais tort" — the customer is never wrong. It was a sales policy before it was a proverb.
Equivalents in French, Spanish, Japanese, and German
- French: Le client est roi (literally: The customer is king)
- Spanish: El cliente siempre tiene la razón (literally: The customer is always right)
- Japanese: お客様は神様 (Okyaku-sama wa kami-sama) (literally: The customer is a god)
- German: Der Kunde ist König (literally: The customer is king)
More proverbs about Communication
- A gentle word opens an iron gate — Kindness and diplomacy can overcome even the most resistant obstacles.
- Even a fool is thought wise if he keeps silent — Saying nothing is often wiser than speaking without knowledge.
- The tongue has no bones, but it is strong enough to break a heart — Words, though intangible, can inflict deep and lasting wounds.
- A problem shared is a problem halved — Talking about difficulties with others makes them easier to bear and to solve.
- Walls have ears — Be careful what you say — you may be overheard in unexpected places.
- The one who tells the stories rules the world — Whoever controls the narratives shapes beliefs, cultures, and civilizations.
From our untranslatable words
- Meriggiare — To take a quiet midday rest in a cool, shaded spot, escaping the fierce afternoon sun.
- Backpfeifengesicht — A face that is just begging to be slapped — someone so smug you can't help the urge.
- Tartle — That panicky pause when you go to introduce someone and realize you've forgotten their na…