Opinion: Is the customer truly still king in Estonia?

Editor Ene Kallas questions whether the old retail motto "the customer is king" holds true today. Prices have risen, but service quality has not kept pace. The opinion piece examines how customer relations have changed over recent decades.

There was once a popular slogan in Estonian retail: the customer is king. Editor Ene Kallas recalls that thirty years ago, when shop shelves were sparse and prices more reasonable, this truly held – people shopped willingly and the service was worthy of the motto.

Today, however, the picture has changed. Prices have risen dramatically – one could say they have become positively "regal" – but service quality has not kept pace. Kallas raises the question of whether the customer has lost the treatment befitting their throne precisely when they should deserve it most.

This issue touches many Estonian consumers, who notice daily that the relationship between buyer and seller has shifted. On one hand, ever-higher prices are demanded; on the other, it seems customer focus has been relegated to the background. The question is not limited to one shop or service – it is a broader social trend.