There is a rather silly notion that governs many consumer relationships in the United States. It is the idea that the “customer is always right.” The idea is a great one, when we are the customer. Or so we think.

Have you ever wondered why businesses are willing to go along with this ruse? I mean, let’s be honest, you and I are not always right. Whether we are at home or at work or at the mall, we are often wrong. At home and at work we do not get treated as if we can do no error. Why do we get the royal treatment at stores?

Because we are fools, that’s why. Here, do the math with me. As a “customer” we can do no wrong. We boast and brag about what great service stores like Costco and Nordstom have, because we can return anything we buy and these businesses treat shoppers like us as if . . . yep, the “customer is always right.” Do they treat employees as if the “employee is always right?” Uh, no. Do they treat litigants as if the “litigant is always right?” Uh, no. They do not treat anyone as if he is always right, except the customer. So then you and I only get the royal treatment if we are a “customer,” a.k.a. a person who gives a business money. We are “always right” so long as we are subjects of the business. That’s an odd kind of royal treatment.

What is stranger still is that, not only do we gush over the royal treatment we receive by giving a business money, we feel proud of ourselves for being shrewd in patronizing the businesses that most exploit our dependency. We organize our entire household budget around “Costco runs” and pat ourselves on the back for it. We fill our wardrobe (and credit cards) with Nordstrom’s finest and call ourselves “discerning shoppers.” How noble is that?

American-style consumerism has turned us into kings and queens in submission.