Every day, customers fire employees by taking their money elsewhere. It is that money, after all, that pays for employee salaries, vacations, 401(k)s, rental cars, and everything else, says best–selling author Jeffrey Fox, founder of the Connecticut–based marketing consultancy Fox & Co. When customers leave their money in their pockets or take it to a competitor, there is no money to pay employees. Here, he briefly explains how customers fire employees:

“Customers sometimes fire employees directly, such as when the poorly served small–business owner calls a supplier and demands a different salesperson, but usually it happens indirectly. Customers who are treated rudely take their paycheck–funding money down the street. Customers who are over–billed and inconvenienced, who are bumped from one employee to another, or who think they are overpaying simply say adios.

“I recall an old–fashioned diner in New Hampshire that had smoking and nonsmoking sections. A number of employees asked the owner to ban smoking everywhere in the diner. The owner converted to a smoke–free diner and rapidly lost a hardcore group of customers who liked to hack with their hash, and cough with their coffee. The owner gave the employees a choice: Give the customers what they want or join the customers who left. Smoking came back — and so did the smokers.

“Every employee in every organization must work every day, and all day, to directly or indirectly get and keep customers. Otherwise, the employee will be redundant. If the customer wants smiles, then smile. If the customer wants fast, don’t be slow — because if the customers go away, the employees go away. I know of many managers who sometimes growl at employees, ‘If you don’t like it here, you can vote with your feet,’ or ‘It’s my way or the highway.’ Dissatisfied customers sometimes growl, but most of the time they vote. And then the manager is left with no one to growl at.”

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