Are Rules REALLY Meant To Be Broken?

As time passes one thing our readers will learn about us,
is that we are reasonable business men.

We understand our luggage is going to be lost once in
a while, there may be the occasional malfunction in
our dinner order, or a product you ordered get’s damaged
beyond recognition through the mail.

However, the one thing that chaps our hides is to see businesses
lose loyal customers because of rigid, poorly thought out RULES!

Don’t get me wrong, we are not talking about rules, or principles
that are critical to business success.

This is about…return policies, change policies, sales policies, etc.

Now that you understand what I am referring to let me
tell you about a recent situation that cost me an hour and
half of my life I will never get back…all because of some RULE!

Setup:
A month ago I purchased from Travelocity, two airline
tickets AND hotel rooms for Eben Pagans Mastermind meeting
in Los Angeles.

A week before the trip one of our coaching clients called and
asked us for some one-on-one time in Phoenix.  He also wanted to
introduce us to a friend of his that was in some desperate need of
marketing help. So we decided to fly into Phoenix the day before we
were scheduled to leave for L.A.

I have changed airline tickets many times before.  No big deal, right?

WRONG!

Travelocity has a RULE, a rule that states ANY combo
reservation package is considered a “Vacation Package”
and the ONLY change a “Vacation Package” can make
is a date change.

I understand the spirit behind the rule…

You block out hotel time–they want to make sure you use that time.
They want their money.

The problem was we were NOT changing our Hotel reservation
we were still going to be there to use those rooms.

All we wanted to do was change the first leg of the trip to
Phoenix and make it a day earlier.  We would then get a
one-way ticket from Phoenix to L.A. to finish out our trip
as planned.

They couldn’t see that.  Their rigid view was we were
trying to break a rule.  A rule they were not willing to
step out of the box and say “hmmm does this rule really fit here”.

Needless to say after 1 ½ hours and 4 people telling me NO,
I finally found someone that was willing to get a three way
call with Alaska Air and confirm that as long as I kept the
hotel the same—they would gladly take more money from me
in order to accommodate our travel plans.

Lesson:
Rules are great when they are used to create effective marketing
campaigns, HR Policies, etc.

But ALL Rules that pertain to dealing with customers/clients
should be measured against common sense and ultimately how
they make the customer feel about you and your business.

So ask yourself this question about your business…

Are there procedures/processes in your company that are
preventing you or your staff from doing the right thing for
your customer?

Never forget that your customers have more choices than ever before.

I challenge you to take a minute to review your sales process,
your return policy, and your customer service policy.

Challenge every RULE you have in place to see if YOU
would be ok if it was you on the other side.  Your goal should
be to create “WOW” experiences with every customer interaction.

If you don’t–you risk losing them forever!

Case in point–I will NEVER use Travelocity again!

Will I let them know of my decision, NOPE!

I will just take my business and slip away—while
telling others so they don’t make the mistake of
booking that “VACATION” they thought was a business trip.
Dedicated To Increasing Your Cash Flow,
Chad and Karry