{"id":32153,"date":"2020-06-03T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-06-03T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hyken.com\/ridiculous-interpretation-of-rules\/"},"modified":"2024-01-18T09:34:09","modified_gmt":"2024-01-18T09:34:09","slug":"ridiculous-interpretation-of-rules","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hyken.com\/customer-service-training\/ridiculous-interpretation-of-rules\/","title":{"rendered":"Ridiculous Interpretation of Rules"},"content":{"rendered":"\"A<\/a>\r\n\r\nThis is one of those unbelievable customer service stories that borders on the ridiculous. I actually thought I was in the middle of a Seinfeld<\/em> episode\u2014or maybe there was a hidden camera hoping to get a crazy reaction to the interaction I\u2019m about to share with you.\r\n\r\n\r\nI was at an airport and wanted some breakfast. There was just one person ahead of me in line. I heard her order a bacon, egg and cheese sandwich, hash browns and an orange juice. After placing her order, she stepped aside. The woman behind the counter asked what I\u2019d like. I responded, \u201cI\u2019ll have exactly what that customer in front of me just ordered.\u201d The employee looked up at the clock and said, \u201cBreakfast is not served after 10:30.\u201d\r\n\r\nWhat?! That woman just ordered ten seconds before I did. Could it be 10:31, one minute after? Did it really matter? On top of that, I could see a number of egg sandwiches warming in the oven behind her, ready to be sold to hungry customers like myself.\r\n\r\nI asked if she was serious, and she gave me a cold stare and repeated herself, \u201cBreakfast is not served after 10:30.\u201d Directly next to this quick-serve restaurant, was another restaurant. The manager of that restaurant was watching what had just unfolded and said, \u201cSir, we\u2019ll be happy to serve you breakfast.\u201d\r\n\r\nOf course, I took him up on his offer. We had a good laugh about it, and I knew I had some new material to write about.\r\n

There are rules and then there are \u201crules.\u201d<\/h3>\r\nIn a world where customer service and experience is as important as ever, it is important to properly train and empower employees to say \u201cyes\u201d to a customer whenever possible\u2014as long as it is a win\/win for both the customer and company. This means teaching when to be flexible. Some rules can\u2019t be broken. That can include anything that might harm an employee or customer, something illegal and more. It\u2019s important to let employees know what those hard and fast rules are. Then teach them that most other \u201crules,\u201d as they might see them, are more like guidelines<\/em> that can have a degree of flexibility built into them.\r\n\r\nWhat could the woman taking my order at that first restaurant have done? She could have looked over and noticed there were plenty of breakfast sandwiches and said, \u201cThis is your lucky day. Normally, we stop serving breakfast at 10:30, but it looks like we still have some breakfast sandwiches.\u201d I would have loved that. I might have even shared that story\u2014about how she used common sense to take care of her customer.\r\n\r\nWhat we\u2019re trying to avoid is a ridiculous or extreme interpretation of rules. The reasons to be diligent about enforcing certain rules are obvious, as already stated, and must be taught. Examples of extreme interpretation should also be taught. When taught properly, employees will know the difference between what they can and should do\u2014and what they can\u2019t<\/em> and shouldn\u2019t<\/em>.\r\n\r\n\r\n
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