Pro tip: The 'customer is always right' line can backfire in a real way

I work at a library in Madison, and a patron insisted a book was overdue by our mistake. I followed the rule and waived the fine, but then they came back next week with three more books, saying they were 'also our mistake'. I learned that being too flexible can set a bad pattern. Has anyone else had a simple policy exception turn into a bigger problem?

3 comments

3 Comments

andrew63916d ago

Had that happen at my old cafe job. Started making a note in their account after the first courtesy, so we could say we already made a one time exception.

henry60416d ago

Why do so many places, like @andrew639 said, need a system just to be nice once?

caseyc7814d ago

It's also about being fair to other customers. If you keep bending rules for one person, it's not fair to everyone else who follows them. The note system keeps things even for everyone.