It’s the universal rule that most businesses live by: The customer is always right. But when is it time to stop stroking and start holding customers/clients accountable when they fail to live up to their end of the bargain? That’s the question John Jantsch explores in today’s Duct Tape Marketing blog post.

Sure, some people or companies may hire you to hold them accountable or give them the push they need to do their best work, Jatsch says. But if they don’t give you what you need to do your job, should there be consequences? Jantsch suggests several possibilities for how to hold a customer’s feet to the fire, but he makes one point clear: If a customer doesn’t allow you to do what they hired you to do, ultimately it will only damage your reputation and success.