Anaita Sarkar: I fired a customer - and it’s the best decision I ever made
I believed one of the most famous lines in business: ‘The customer is always right’. That was until I encountered one man who gave me no choice but to fire him, writes entrepreneur Anaita Sarkar.
For 15 years, I believed one of the most famous lines in business: “The customer is always right.”
It was drilled into me during my Masters of Marketing, reinforced when I became a marketing lecturer, and repeated like a non-negotiable commandment everywhere I worked.
So when I started Hero Packaging seven years ago, I genuinely believed that if we could just keep every single customer happy by offering great products, fast service, and fun experiences, the business would thrive.
Pretty simple.
But here’s what actually happens when you’ve served over seventy thousand customers: You realise that whilst most of them are wonderful, some are well… simply not good people.
No matter how hard you try, no matter how flawless the product, they want to complain, demand refunds, leave horrible reviews and sometimes even treat your staff like punching bags.
It took me a long time to realise that not all customers deserve to stay customers.
The moment everything changed
Recently, I was at a conference when I saw a message come through from one of our customer service team members.
She said she needed to talk urgently.
When I called her back, I could hear it immediately - her shaking voice, her breath catching. She had been crying.
A customer had misread the production time for a custom order.
Our website clearly states 7–10 days. She calmly explained this to him over the phone.
Instead of admitting the mistake, he turned it on her.
He got angry.
He became abusive.
He used language no one should ever be subjected to at work - ever.
She offered him a full refund anyway. He kept going.
And in that moment, I knew exactly what I had to do.
I’d done it before, and I will do it again if I have to: I fired the customer.
I told my team member to go home for the day. I handled the rest.
I blocked him on Shopify.
Blocked his email.
Blocked his phone number on our work line.
Blocked him across all social accounts.
I shut every door he could possibly walk through again.
Because if someone abuses my team, they don’t get the privilege of being our customer.
Why “the customer is always right” is actually wrong
What we need to remember is that customers, like business owners are human beings.
They misunderstand things.
They get emotional.
They can react badly, sometimes terribly.
And yes, sometimes they are the ones in the wrong.
When we lump millions of people together into one group and say they are always right, we give them permission to treat staff badly, bend rules, and weaponise the idea that businesses must bow to them no matter what.
That might have worked in the department-store era of the 1900s.
But it doesn’t work for modern small businesses running on tiny margins, close-knit teams, and constant pressure.
The truth?
A customer who is irrationally rude is not worth the revenue.
My message to other business owners
If you’re reading this and you’ve felt that twist-in-your-gut moment dealing with a customer who crossed the line, here’s your permission slip:
You’re allowed to fire customers.
You’re allowed to protect your team.
You’re allowed to prioritise psychological safety over profit.
My team will always come first. Without them, I don’t have a business.
I don’t have happy customers.
I don’t have a brand at all.
And ironically, the more I’ve stood up for my team, the stronger our company has become.
It turns out the customer isn’t always right. But the founder has to be brave enough to say so.
Originally published as Anaita Sarkar: I fired a customer - and it’s the best decision I ever made
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