'Shark Tank': Mark Cuban declares 'customer isn't always right' after backing out of a deal with Surprise Cake
One of the most-popular tenets of carrying out a successful business is "the customer is always right". But one of the sharks doesn't necessarily agree with this. In the latest episode of 'Shark Tank, when mother-son duo, Jordan Long and Liz Charm, stepped into the tank to pitch for their cake stand called 'Suprise Cake', they came in with the hopes of striking a lucrative deal with a shark but instead were met with the sharks dissecting and criticizing their business ideas.
Jodan and Liz came on the show seeking $200K for an 8% stake in their company, 'Surprise Cake'. Their company creates unique cake stands that can not only hold a cake but also hold a gift inside the cake. While presenting their pitch, Liz explained how she came up with the idea. She shared the story of how for her daughter's 13th birthday party, she decided to gift a cellphone to her. Instead of gift wrapping the phone and handing it over to her, Liz wanted to surprise her daughter, so she placed the phone inside the birthday cake and called on the phone.
Everybody at the party was surprised and thrilled to see a gift inside the cake. At that moment Liz felt that she could create a business around it. But due to a law that prevents from placing any inedible object inside an edible item, she had to find a way to work around it. So, she teamed up with her engineer son, Jordan, to design the Surprise Cake stand that could safely hold gifts inside the cake without violating the law.
The sharks were intrigued by the duo's story Barbara Corcoran then asked them what they planned on doing with the money. They then explained their plans of expanding their business into a one-stop-shop for all surprise giftings. Jordan and Liz shared that their customers kept asking them to sell cakes too alongside the cake stand, so they plan on doing it and also eventually include the gifts inside the stand.
When Mark Cuban heard their ideas, he wasn't impressed at all. He shocked everybody by stating that the customer isn't always right, and a business owner need not pay much attention to the customer's suggestions. He further elaborated his point by saying that the customers just want some fun and an easy way out, but that need not necessarily translate well for the businesses and owners. When another fellow shark questioned Mark about the popular business tenet, he simply squashed it by saying its wrong and customers are overrated.
Unfortunately, Jordan and Liz failed to secure a deal from the sharks. But Mark's observation about customers being overrated seems to have resonated with fans, who agreed with him. A fan tweeted, "“Listening to your customers is way overrated.” @mcuban #SharkTank." "The customer isn't always right in my experience as a private investigator. #SharkTank," wrote another fan. "#SharkTank. Did he just say listening to the customer is over-rated? There is no "customer is always right?" commented a surprised fan.
“Listening to your customers is way overrated.” @mcuban 🤔💯👏🏽 #SharkTank
— Ryan Bartholomee (@RyanBartholomee) November 7, 2020
The customer isn't always right in my experience as a private investigator. #SharkTank
— Blackstarprivateye (@blackstar_pi) November 7, 2020
#SharkTank. Did he just say listening to the customer is over-rated? There is no "customer is always right?"
— Maureen 'mo' Amos (@ldydemon) November 7, 2020
'Shak Tank' Season 12 airs on Friday at 8/7c only on ABC.