I HATE it when that happens!

"I HATE it when that happens!"

One of the most disturbing things I hear as I go throughout the country giving loss prevention seminars is the lament from the front line of what seems to them to be betrayal:

"Every time I try to do what I know is right, or what we have been taught is policy, someone who ranks higher than me comes along and either does it for the customer, or makes me do it. This makes me look like a fool in front of the customer. I HATE it when that happens! Why can't my boss back me up? Especially when they know I'm right and they're wrong."

Sometimes, of course, there are very good reasons for making an end run on the rules. In the interest of customer service, or accommodating a special customer that may be well known to the officer, decisions are made that appear to go against company policy. But, just as there is a right and a wrong way of doing anything, these exceptions can cause problems if they are not handled correctly.

By taking a little time to explain to the customer, in front of the employee, that the employee was correct in doing what they did, but "as this is a special case, and for these specific reasons,we are making an exception in this case?" Just that much would allow the employee to "save face" and not be embarrassed or belittled in front of the customer. It certainly is a small price to pay for the mutual respect gained.

It is no secret to anyone in this industry that it is difficult to hold good people in our front line area. I am still getting the same responses to my surveys where I ask, "If you could change one thing about your institution, what would it be?"

About 30% of the answers come back referring to low pay. The other 70% talk about decisions made in high places without first finding out how they will affect the front line function; about lack of training and lack of consideration; about lack of understanding of what the lower rank job entails, or its responsibilities; about lack of communication; and about officers or managers who "break the rules." The rumbling from the ranks is starting to grow louder with each passing day.

Changes in the regulations and in the requirements of the examiners makes our institutions more dependent than ever on our front lines. The matter of survival in the '90s will depend on the quality of our customer service. It is good business to start treating our front line employees with the respect they demand and deserve.

Copyright © 1990 Bankers' Hotline. Originally appeared in Bankers' Hotline, Vol. 1, No. 4, 4/90