The expression "The customer is always right" is a commonly heard one, but it is even more commonly misunderstood. We quite simply don't know what it means--and unfortunately, neither do the proprietors of many businesses. Although it may be vague and cliched, the statement is not meaningless. Allow me to make an attempt to provide it with some definition.

"The customer is always right" possesses both substantive and procedural content. Substantively, I interpret it to mean that when a business and a consumer have a legitimate disagreement, the consumer should be given the benefit of the doubt (especially if the disagreement is over something relatively small). Of course there are limits to this substantive guarantee. But as a general principle, disputes should be resolved to the satisfaction of the customer whenever possible.

In procedural terms, the saying means this: regardless of how any disagreement between a business and a customer is resolved, the business should always deal with the customer in a courteous and dignified fashion. Even when the business does not or cannot give in to the customer's wishes, employees should always treat the customer in a friendly and respectful manner.

Having provided my interpretation of this popular saying, let me offer two anecdotes in which Cambridge businesses violated this rule in stunning fashion.

The first story involves a business frequented by many Harvard students. VideoPros, the movie rental shop located in the Garage, receives a lot of business from Harvard students living in the Yard and the River Houses simply because of its location. It certainly isn't because of its selection or its service.

On a recent visit to the store, I was informed that I had incurred a two dollar charge for a late video. This was upsetting, not because I was bothered by having to pay two dollars, but because the video in question had been returned on time. In fact, I had gone out of my way to return it on time, leaving in the middle of a holiday party thrown by friends to take the tape back. I informed the woman at the counter that I had returned the tape on time. She insisted that I had not. I again informed her that she was incorrect.

Instead of simply forgiving the minor charge as any businessperson concerned with customer service would have done, the woman I spoke to decided to turn my private complaint into a public spectacle. Looking out over the customers waiting near the counter, she called out to them, "The video was clearly late. Would anyone care to come up here and tell me what my screen says?" She gestured towards the computer monitor before her.

Infuriated by her rudeness, I paid her the two dollars, informed her that I would never again patronize her store, and left. I walked down Massachusetts Avenue to VideoSmith. Unlike VideoPros, VideoSmith is a clean, well-lit store where I am treated with respect and friendliness whenever I visit. Furthermore, VideoSmith's selection, especially in foreign films, is superior to that of VideoPros. It offers frequent-renter cards, and it allows you to keep videos for longer than VideoPros. Although farther away from my dorm room than VideoPros, going to VideoSmith is well worth the walk.

My parents and younger sister came up at the beginning of this year to help me move in to my dorm room. One evening, we went out to eat at Poppa & Goose, a Vietnamese restaurant with a ridiculous name located near the Cambridge-side Galleria. It seemed to be a pleasant place. We were seated after a short wait, and then ordered our food.

After waiting half an hour without receiving any food, not even our appetizers, we politely inquired of our waitress as to when we might expect our food. She informed us that this was her first evening of work, and that the cooks in the kitchen were using favoritism in dispensing dishes, giving all of the orders to the waiters and waitresses who had been working in the restaurant for a long time. This did not strike us as a very professional way to run a kitchen, but our waitress seemed to be trying very hard, so we decided to be patient and continue waiting.

After forty-five minutes without food, we asked to speak to the manager to inform her of our situation. She told us that orders are handled in the order in which the kitchen receives them--although that did not explain why people who ordered after us were settling down to dessert. She did not apologize for the delay, and she delivered her remarks in a way which implied that somehow we were the party at fault.

Finally, after an hour of waiting, the manager brought out order out. We pointed out to her, in a polite manner, that we had waited an hour for our order. We thought that perhaps knowing about the problem we experienced might help her to prevent similar problems in the future. After all, most businesses actively seek input from customers so that they can find out how to serve their clientele better. Most businesses are happy to receive comment cards from patrons, even when the comments are negative, because such feedback helps them to improve.

The management of Poppa & Goose does not appear to share this viewpoint. Instead of apologizing to us or thanking us for pointing out a problem to her, the manager slammed the dishes down on the table and asked, in a very loud voice, "Do you want this food or not?" At that point, we voted with our feet--we simply got up and left, having waited over an hour and eaten nothing. We walked across the street to the Cambridgeside Galleria, where we had a pleasant dinner at the food court.

These two anecdotes ultimately had happy endings. When faced with unacceptable service, we were simply able to take our business elsewhere, to establishments that would provide us with the service that customers deserve from businesses. The happy endings of these anecdotes make clear to us that the beauty of our free market system can be found in the way that it provides for consumer choice.

If I have problems with the poor excuse for "service" provided by VideoPros, I can simply walk down Massachusetts Avenue to a store where I will be treated with the courtesy and respect that I deserve.

David B. Lat has a large poster of Ralph Nader hanging on his wall.