I often wince when I hear the term zero tolerance. It is frequently used to rationalize actions like expelling a child for bringing a plastic dinner knife to school or arresting a homeless person who shoplifted food. In my opinion, this policy should really be called “zero flexibility,” and a lack of flexibility can be as harmful in customer service as it is in education or law. Flexibility means being open-minded. It means welcoming new ideas and alternative viewpoints. It means adapting to changed circumstances. It means bending a little to make your customer happy.
Admit it, you’re not perfect. No one is. Mistakes will happen. Times will change. New information will arise. If you’re not flexible enough to revise your policies and procedures, you will lose out to a competitor who is. The best managers are not only open-minded, they are gluttons for new ideas. They are not only adaptable, they are actually eager to improve the way things are done—quickly, if not immediately. Someone once defined a great leader as a person “of fixed and unbending principles, the first of which is to be flexible at all times.”
How do you feel when you see a sign that reads “Absolutely No Returns”? When I see it, I take my business elsewhere. The sign tells me the company is inflexible and unwilling to take the time and energy to listen to my complaints. They may think they have good reason to adopt that policy. Maybe their product is the kind that customers can easily use and then return, essentially getting a free rental. Maybe they’ve been taken advantage of in the past. To me, it doesn’t matter. There are other ways to address those concerns than to alienate customers with an inflexible policy.
Today’s consumer enjoys a dizzying and ever-changing array of options for just about every need you can think of. Smart businesses know that their procedures have to be as elastic as the marketplace. This is why insurance companies advertise flex benefits. It’s why companies offer flex work schedules. It’s why retailers promote flexible payment plans. Remember Burger King’s “Have It Your Way” campaign? There’s a good reason their business fell off once they abandoned that slogan. The customers’ response was clear: Do it my way and I’ll come back; make me do it your way, and the only back you’ll see is mine as I walk out the door. After their course correction, Burger King expanded all around the world. Not long ago, I walked by one of their outlets in Istanbul, and it was packed. They are obviously doing it the way the Turks want it done.
Of course, it’s often easier to adopt a “zero flexibility” policy with your customers. If you’re rigid, you don’t have to listen to them so much; you don’t have to think about what they tell you; you don’t have to make decisions about specific issues or think up creative ways to handle unusual problems. But it is not the way to build trust and loyalty. You can accomplish that only by being flexible enough to treat each customer—and situation—as an individual, and an important one at that.
To a certain degree, flexibility is a personality trait. Some people are programmed, either by genetics or by upbringing, to be more conservative, cautious, and slow to change; others are more inherently open, adaptable, and eager to try new things. Each set of traits has its virtues, but if you take either tendency too far, you run into trouble. It’s true that in some cases, sticking to tradition and standard operating procedures can be wise, and approaching change with caution can be prudent. But if you’re always rigid and unyielding, the train will pass you by. Customers simply don’t like dealing with stubborn, uncompromising people who won’t bend an inch. Take it from the most successful coach in college basketball history, the legendary John Wooden: “An effective leader allows exceptions to the rule for exceptional results or when circumstance demands.”
More than one company has lost my business with inflexible policies. I once exchanged a printer at an office supply company, only to find that it used different ink cartridges from the ones I’d bought for the previous model. I called and asked if I could return my unused cartridges. I was told I could, but when I got to the store they said I could have only a store credit or a gift card. No cash. No credit card refund. Why? Because that’s their policy. And why is it their policy? The person at the desk had no idea, and that’s exactly my point. The shortsighted folks at corporate headquarters hadn’t given her the flexibility to stray from their rigid policy—even when it meant potentially losing a customer. They didn’t even give her the information to explain why she couldn’t.
An ancient Chinese proverb advises leaders to be like bamboo: strong, sturdy, and firmly rooted, but capable of bending with the breeze. Whether you’re a leader or not, providing outstanding service should be your unyielding mission; how you fulfill that mission should be as flexible as bamboo.