| One recent morning, at 10:35, I walked into
a local McDonald’s and ordered a sausage biscuit. The counter person turned around to
look up at the clock. Then she said to me: “Breakfast ends at 10:30.” A little
surprised, I told her that it was only a few minutes after that time and couldn’t she
sell me a biscuit? She just stood there and repeated “We don’t serve breakfast
after 10:30.”
What logic is there to selling a biscuit at 10:29 a.m. and
deliberately not selling that item six minutes later, simply because that is the
“rule”? What does McDonald’s do with left over sausage biscuits?
Wouldn’t it be more profitable to sell them? Or is there some sort of sausage biscuit
heaven in the sky they all must go to when the clock strikes 10:30?
Now, McDonald’s is a much admired, sharp, successful
organization, the largest fast food operation in the world. And McDonald’s, like all
companies, must have policies to make its business run smoothly. And regulations must be
set so employees know what the company expects of them. But does common sense go out the
window? In this time of fierce competition and much talk of improving customer service,
doesn’t judgment on a one-to-one basis have a place?
After this experience, I started thinking about the rules
and regulations we make as we run our business…rules that seem perfectly logical to
us but totally illogical to our customers…rules that may even cause us to lose
customers. I discussed this with several business colleagues and friends and every one of
them had similar stories to tell, even one storeowner who realized he was guilty, too.
Closing Time at the Cleaners
Jeff, the owner of a men’s store, was going on a
market trip Sunday and planned to pick up two suits from the cleaners on Saturday
afternoon. Knowing the cleaners closed at 5:30, he left his business early in what he
thought was time enough to get there. Well, slow moving traffic caused him to arrive at
5:40. The door was locked but he felt he was in luck as he saw the owner’s car in the
driveway and could see someone moving in the back of the shop. Though he kept loudly
knocking on the door and calling to the person inside, there was no response. Jeff made
the market trip without those suits, vowing never to trade with that cleaners again.
But this started Jeff thinking about his own store closing
time and that he might also be guilty of the same rigid practice. Usually, he locked the
doors exactly at the 6 PM closing, then went to the office to tally up. The salespeople
left by the back door and he wasn’t far behind. So Jeff set a new “rule,”
one more customer-friendly. The official store closing time would still be posted as 6 PM.
But the door would not actually be locked until 6:15. He felt the additional 15 minutes of
time this cost him was worth it.
Contrast this cleaners story with one that Mike, the bell
captain at the Hotel Algonquin in New York City, told me about his experience in a new
Nordstrom store that had just opened in his New Jersey neighborhood. Mike and his wife
were looking around the store and stopped at the customer service counter to ask what time
the store closed. The associate smiled and said: “Whenever you’re finished
shopping, sir.” What a very customer-friendly answer! Mike and his wife felt like
royalty. Doesn’t Nordstrom have an official closing time? Of course. But apparently
you won’t get thrown out of the store with bells going off.
Rule: No exceptions to a promotional policy.
A local store was having a promotion: Buy $75. in our
fragrance department and receive a complimentary crystal vase. My purchase came to $72.75.
I asked if I could have a crystal vase. “Oh, I’m so sorry, but the purchase has
to be $75.” When I protested, I was told that “if we make an exception for you
with that amount, we would have to do it for everyone who asks.” (So?) I was annoyed
with this rigid and unreasonable attitude and since I knew I could find the same brand in
at least two other stores in town, I decided to go elsewhere to make my purchase.
Company policy should be to make a decision on a situation
based on its own merits, never a blanket rule. Since I obviously felt strongly enough
about this to cancel the purchase, wouldn't it have been better to please me by granting
my request than to annoy me enough to leave the store? That store lost more than $2.25
that day with its no-exception rule. When the amount is within a few dollars of a
promotion, exceptions could be made 1. when the customer specifically asks and 2. as a
gesture of goodwill even when the customer does not ask. “Since your purchase is so
close,” the salesperson could say, “I’d like to give you a complimentary
crystal vase for shopping with us.” Choose to delight the customer at every
opportunity you’re given.
There is another lesson in this scenario: the power of
differentiation. If this store had an exclusive on the fragrance label or something
different about the offerings that I could not find anyplace else, they would have had me.
They didn’t. Whether you sell apparel, lumber, or insurance, the more you
differentiate your company from the competition, whether in products or in services, the
more you tie your customers to you.
Giving Employees Authority
What rules and regulations in your company have the
potential for offending your customers? Certainly, it is necessary to establish policy and
regulations to help your business run efficiently. But are these rules so rigid they have
no exceptions?
When there is a need for an exception, your employees
should not only be authorized but encouraged to use their judgment in each situation. But
employees will never bypass company rules, even knowing that doing so would better serve
their customer, if they fear criticism or reprisal from management. The fear of management
criticism can paralyze your employees. Make sure your associates feel assured they can,
and should, make decisions one-by-one to solve a customer’s problem.
Involve your employees in the decision making process as
much as possible. Why? Because those who are charged with implementing policy must also
have a voice in making that policy. The employee handbook of Nordstrom, the Seattle-based
store group, consists of a central rule: Rule #1: Use your good judgment in all
situations. There are no additional rules. |
