Why Customer Service Can Be So Bad (and So Good)

Why do some companies take a “caveat emptor” approach to customer service, while others declare that the customer is always right? Chicago Booth ethics professor John Paul Rollert says it comes down to who carries the burden of risk in a transaction. Either way, both businesses and customers are better off if each comes to the transaction with a spirit of goodwill and a reticence to abuse the other's trust.