The customer is always right
24/11/05 | by Elliot Stanley

A phrase often spouted in today’s consumer led world, usually by a middle-aged bloke in Dixons who is unhappy that his I-Pod won’t double as a toaster, insistent that the spotty, hung-over and slightly dense assistant assured him it would. It doesn’t matter that common sense should, somewhere along the line, kick in and highlight to the aforementioned customer that what he is expecting is unreasonable. That doesn’t matter because the customer is always right.

I blame my first ever employers. During my college days I spent several evenings a week lumping sacks of potatoes around a supermarket shop floor. Little did I know that the then moderately successful Tescos were already plotting worldwide domination through sweet-talking every customer to walk through its doors. It doesn’t matter what reason you want to complain, they will listen; if the bag in which your carrots are packaged made too much noise they will give you your money back; if you don’t like the shape of your apples, open your wallet and collect your full and immediate refund. The customer is always right.

I concur totally with Carl Blackborow and his excellent assessment of the fickle nature of Forest fans, although I think opening it up for a minute this is far more wide-reaching than just those on Trentside of a Saturday afternoon. It’s an epidemic across the UK where we love to moan, where patience simply does not exist and retribution must be sought for even the slightest wrong. Forgiveness is a thing of the past. Second chances? You must be joking! It's first time or no time, thanks very much. 

So, with this in mind, why don’t we, the Forest faithful, begin a stand against this ridiculous way to live? Have a bit of patience with Gareth Taylor; don’t berate him just because you don’t like his style. I am not Gary Megson’s biggest fan, but I appreciate what he is trying to achieve and for as long as he is Nottingham Forest manager he gets my support. I urge you to do the same. Don’t wheel out your vocabulary of boo’s at half-time when we are a goal down – support the lads to victory in the second half. As hard as it may be, save your short-tempered anger for the supermarket on the way home – there’s bound to be an uninformed assistant to unleash it on.

It’s sad to see that we are in a world where short-term glossy covers are preferable over a well-constructed but maybe less visually stunning publication. The Forest house has been torn down. The foundations were ripped out and the bulldozers called in. This time we are using reinforced steel to build on and not rotting wood. Whilst the construction might still be covered in scaffolding there is considerable work going on inside to ensure the finished product can withstand the test of time. It may not be ready for a few years yet, but when the supports come down and the landscape gardeners come in it will have been worth it. No matter to what degree football becomes a business, we are not customers, we are supporters. Even when the product is faulty, we are not entitled to a refund. If we were I’d be a damn site better off.