Breaking the Rules

Every company has a set of rules and they should not be broken at any time, but flouting the rules to complete a customers request is not at all wrong, as it is nothing but good customer service, sensing the urgency of the request. Nancy was also rewarded on this basis only; because she took the matter into her hands, and did what she thought was right by reciprocating to the customers request even though she knew that she was breaking the rules. The only thing on her mind was that she wanted to solve the customer’s problem and didn’t want to lose a valuable customer.Her only thought was to provide good customer service to the customer who was in such urgency. The most important thought on her mind was that she should solve the customer’s problem at any cost, and she had to decide how to react, and the decision Nancy took was totally justified, even if she was breaking the rules. Her decision solved the customer’s problem, and he was able to get the spare part he needed on time. Nancy had other options also, she could have told the customer that no distributor was available at that time, and that she could not help the customer.She also could have told the customer that rules did not permit her to send the required spare part directly to a customer. She could also simply ignore the call, as if it had not come at all and got back to her work. Nancy knew that good customer service is always important for a customer to keep coming back to the same company, and Nancy who is a loyal employee of the company, did exactly what she thought was right and got rewarded for what she did. Breaking the RulesNancy was obviously a very good and loyal employee of the company that she was working for, because she did not think of the outcome of breaking the rules, but her most important thought was to provide prompt and good customer service. The manner in which she dealt with the situation is proof enough to judge her behaviour. She didn’t even think twice before writing a personal check for $ 150 to compensate the loss of the same amount to the company, as the distributor refused to pay the dealer, because he was not a regular dealer.This sort of action itself shows that the manner in which Nancy behaved and handled the situation was commendable even if that meant that she had to break the rules. Her loyalty and tactfulness were the main factors that influenced her very much while taking the decision. The reputation of any company should be the primary concern of each and every employee, nobody should behave or act in such a manner towards a customer, that it gives a bad reputation to the company.If the reputation of the company is at stake, than it is alright for an employee to break a rule, if he thinks it would improve the reputation of the company. In this manner the company can also try to modify their set of rules if the need arises. The employees should be encouraged to employ a particular strategy and to break an y particular policies the company has in order to provide good customer service. And such employees should also be properly rewarded for breaking the rules, while keeping in mind the company’s reputation and proper service to the customers.Any company which encourages employees to break policies is a very good company for the customers as well as its employees and investors. A good employee with tact for good customer service goes a long way in improving a company’s reputation. Breaking the Rules Breaking a rule is far better than creating a scene in front of a customer. If there is any rule in the company that has been made only to increase the profits of the company, and to avoid losses, and it does not favour the customer, then the company has to face the wrath of the customer.Therefore it is better to have rules made in such a manner that they also benefit the customer. Every employee should try to judge the rules of the company which are coming in the way of the g rowth of the company, and should try to bring this to the notice of the management, so that they can modify these rules. It is the responsibility of the employee to study each and every rule, and to see if the rules are still meeting the needs of the company, and if only a part of any rule is applicable, then they should try to change or rectify the remaining part of the rule, so that it benefits their company.The employee should try to solve a problem by first defining it, and seeing what needs to be done, to overcome the problem, voicing out the difficulties might help when any other employee might come out with a solution. If any idea is offered and an employee doesn’t like it, he can offer a different perspective to that problem. It is the job of the employee to always think of new strategies and methods to satisfy the customer and to provide better customer service. It is better to challenge the rules which do not add to an employee’s growth or the company’ s growth, than to accept them.Every company should encourage its employees to think in a diverse manner, and to not blindly follow the rules but be creative in their attitudes towards the customers, bending any rules which do not contribute to the growth of the company is very much necessary for the company as well as the employee’s career growth. Good customer service should be the main motto of every employee to attain the confidence of the management. References Customer Service Etiquette, Illium Software Blog, Retrieved on 18 November 2007, http://blog. iliumsoft. com/?p=54 Encouraging Independent Thought, Service Untitled, Retrieved on 18 November 2007, http://www. serviceuntitled. com/category/culture/ John Groth, Career Management: Break the Rules for Career Success, Articlesbase, Retrieved on 18 November 2007, http://www. articlesbase. com/career-management-articles/career-management-break-the-rules-for-career-success-262123. html Laurie Brown, When Good Customer Serv ice Rules go Bad, Retrieved on 18 November 2007, http://www. babyshopmagazine. com/fall07/when-good-customer-service-rules-go-bad. html