Customers are often left frustrated by a company's smooth-running and standardized, but inflexible policies.

Does you company "run like clockwork?" Are your accountants pleased with how smoothly everything moves along? Are your managers content with how customers are managed throughout your system?

If so, watch out! Your present methods may include policies and procedures that are convenient for the company, but utterly frustrating for your customers.

Customers discover these land-mines of dissatisfaction in your company almost by accident. They usually stumble upon them in the course of normal business. Dedicated customers will speak up and complain. Others will just go away.

I am one customer who makes a point of letting companies know when their polices are frustrating, preposterous or just plain customer-unfriendly. Unfortunately, many organizations have built up a thick layer of resistance and defensiveness towards such comments. They have stopped listening to the voice of the customer...especially the customer with a complaint.

In recent weeks I have had a series of actual experiences bizarre enough to make me wonder whether anyone is listening at all! I think you'll find them both funny and disturbing.

I was making arrangements to attend the American Society of Training and Development Annual Conference in Los Angeles. As a frequent flyer, I have many award coupons offering a 50 per cent discount from usual hotel rates.

I called Hilton Hotels in California to make my reservations. The reservations clerk was infinitely helpful. First, she took my name, then my contact numbers. She confirmed the dates, my room preference and credit card number.

She asked if I was a Hilton Honors Club member, which I was not. She signed me up on the spot and then remarked: "Now that you are a Hilton Honors Club member, I can offer you an even lower rate, and an upgraded Towers room on a higher floor. A fruit basket will be waiting for you upon arrival." I was delighted. And my special discount rate was just US$85 per night.

In signing off, I said: "Thank you for your help. I am looking forward to staying at the Hilton during the conference." "The conference?", she shot back quickly. "What conference are you attending?"

I replied that I was attending the American Society for Training and Development's 50th Annual Conference at Disneyland. She said quickly: "Mr Kaufman, if you are attending a conference during your stay, you must use our special conference rate of US$112."

I laughed at her proposal and stated that I was happy with the special rate she had already confirmed on my behalf. "Oh no," she repeated. "If you are coming for a conference, you must use the special conference rate. We have a block of rooms set aside for conference participants on a lower floor. These rooms are specially reserved for the people who are attending the conference."

My protests were to no avail. She checked with her supervisor, who concurred. "I'm sorry, but that's our policy," she said without much concern.

I surrendered to her insistence, listened as she cancelled my Hilton Honors Club reservation, declined to have her book me back into the same hotel at the higher conference rate, and hung up the phone in disbelief.

I called right back. I reached a different reservations clerk and made another reservation. I used my frequent flyer award coupon and the new Hilton Honors Club membership number I had received in the previous phone call. This time I kept my mouth shut about attending any conference!

I paid just US$85 when I went to Los Angeles. I enjoyed the Hilton Towers room and enjoyed the complimentary fruit basket upon arrival. No thanks to Hilton's absurd policy and customer unfriendly procedures, though.

Somewhere deep inside the marketing department of Hilton Hotels, yield management professionals have carefully calculated the maximum rate they can, and will, charge participants at an international conference.

Meanwhile conference participants are also thinkers, communicators and frequent flyers... real-live customers! Hilton Hotels, are you listening?

My next step was to make a three-day car reservation for a pre-conference visit to San Francisco. I called Hertz, where I am a member of the "Hertz Number One Club" for frequent travellers. I planned to use an award coupon for one free day rental from American Airlines and additional award coupons for two more free days from United Airlines.

The telephone reservation officer gave impeccable service. She greeted me pleasantly, acknowledged me as a member of the Number One Club, confirmed my dates, flights, pick-up location and my choice of automobile.

Then she asked me what time I would be returning the car after the first day of rental. "I want the car for all three days," I replied. "You can't keep the same car for all three days," she asserted. "After the first day you have to bring the car back and pick up a different car for the next two days. The first day is paid for with your American Airlines coupon, but the next two days are with your United coupons."

I was skeptical. "But I am the same person, with the same Hertz Number One Club member. I am the rightful owner of all the awards coupons, and I want a Hertz automobile for three consecutive days. Surely you will let me keep the same car, and avoid having to come back to the airport in the middle of my Bay Area vacation."

"That's not the way our system works here, Mr Kaufman," she replied.

"But it should work that way, don't you agree?" I asked, appealing to her sense of logic, concern and elementary customer care.

"I don't make the rules here, Mr Kaufman. Just follow them. What time will you be returning the car after the first day?"

Somewhere deep inside the heart of Hertz, a group of senior accountants live comfortably with their precise policy of "one airline, one coupon, one car, no exceptions". But somewhere closer to this customer's heart lies, frustration, inconvenience, and incredible disbelief.

But I'm not the type of customer who gives up in these situations. When my Hertz reservation commenced in May, I took along a copy of this article to San Francisco and had a long chat with the most senior manager I could find at the airport. I ended up keeping the same car for three days. Hertz Rent-A-Car was listening.

You don't have to call a reservations officer to experience procedural insanity instead of convenience and customer care. Before going vegetarian, I used to visit Burger King for their BK Broiler meal, a fast food lunch of broiled chicken sandwich and french fries.

But instead of taking the large Coca-Cola included in the package, I always asked for a small glass of orange juice instead. The counter staff would freeze up in uncertainty and refer my request to the floor manager.

One young manager was particularly memorable. "I'm sorry, sir," he told me. "You can't have the orange juice with the BK Broiler Meal."

"Oh, sure I can," I replied, "I do it all the time at the other Burger Kings. I know there is a 65-cent price difference and I am happy to pay the difference."

"That's not the problem," he said with a touch of annoyance. "There's no key here on my computer to make the substitution, so I can't let you do it."

"Hey, sometimes you just have to break the rules," I said, reminding him of Burger King's own multi-million dollar advertising campaign. "I'll take the BK Broiler meal, with orange juice."

He realized I was not going to take "No" for an answer and he could not very well go against Burger King's well-known advertising promise. "I'll do it for you just this once, as an exception," he said curtly.

"Oh c'mon, you can do it for me anytime," I replied.

"No," he stated, looking at me straight in the eye. "I will do it for you this once, but I won't do it again the next time."

"Wait a minute," I asked gamely. "You are about to make me a happy customer. Do you really mean you wouldn't make me a happy customer again?"

"I will do it for you this once," he repeated flatly. When I received my meal, with orange juice, I gave the manager a genuine smile and said, "See you again next time."

He quietly replied, just below his breath but loud enough for me to hear, "No, I don't want to see you again."

Somewhere deep inside Burger King, computer programmers design point of purchase terminals to carefully limit the choices and options of customers around the world.

Accountants are happy. The daily sales reports are neat and accurate and clean. But at the counter of the restaurants, face to face between customers and staff, both parties experience frustration.

The advertising slogan says "Sometimes you've just got to break the rules", but the restaurant manager cannot.

After this article first came out, Burger King called and invited me to lunch. They asked me to tell my story. They asked me for suggestions.

The following week I returned to the same outlet seeking a BK Broiler Meal, with small orange juice. The counter staff smiled brightly and keyed in my order.

"How did you do that!?" I asked in a state of pleased amazement.

"Oh, now it's easy," she replied. "Last week they gave us a new key on the computer to make simple menu changes."

Congratulations, Burger King. You are listening!

Now each of these stories is completely true, but they are only valuable if they inspire you to listen more closely to your customers and more carefully examine your policies and procedures.

And remember, although certain polices may cause customers to fume in frustration, the rest of your system may quietly conspire to keep the complaining customers' voice at bay.

Ask your customers:
"How can we serve you better? Is there anything that frustrates you most about the way we provide our service? Is there anything you would like us to do more of? less of? start doing? stop doing? What do other companies do for you that we don't do here?"

Ask your staff:
"What do our customers ask for that frustrates you the most? Are there any special customer requests that really drive you crazy? Is there anything they ask for that is against our company policy?

Is it the customer that makes your staff so mad, or are they driven to distress by limitations in your systems, policies and procedures?

Make special requests:
You can learn how to improve your own systems by testing the flexibility of others. Whenever you dine, travel, shop, purchase or rent, make requests that are slightly different from the usual routine, ask for specials "not on the menu".

Watch carefully how each establishment responds to your requests. Are they fast, flexible and friendly? What is it about their policy and systems that allows them to respond?

Finally, ask yourself: Are you willing to make the change? Your accountant is comfortable. Your managers are content. But who are you in business for?

Your accounting department will still be with you tomorrow. Will your customers be with you, too?

© Copyright 1999, Ron Kaufman