In the business world, there is a widely accepted phrase: “The customer is always right”. The author of this phrase was the American millionaire Marshall Field, who lived between 1834 and 1906.
Marshall Field was born into a farming family in Massachusetts. At the age of 17, he began working in a farm store.
In 1856, Marshall and his brother found employment at the trading company “Cooley, Wadsworth and Co.” in Chicago. In 1862, Field became a partner in the firm, which was then renamed “Farwell, Field & Co.” In 1881, the company, entirely free of debt, rose to prominence under the name “Marshall Field and Company”.
While working in retail, Field was among the first to advocate for customer-centric policies. He introduced the principle that customers could return purchased goods, and that salespeople must accept those returns without question. Around this time, Marshall Field coined the famous phrases: “The customer is always right” and “Give the lady what she wants”.
Marshall Field ranked 18th among the wealthiest people in history, with an estimated fortune of $66 billion (adjusted for inflation). He passed away from pneumonia on New Year’s Day in 1906, at the age of 72, while playing golf.
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