Your company has certain rules, policies, procedures, and processes that you follow every day.
Guess what? It is OK to break those rules.
Not all the time, of course, or you’ll have anarchy on your hands.
Nevertheless, the one time you should bend the rules is when interacting with a loyal customer.
When I travel by plane, I often park at an off-site airport parking. This year, I signed up for their frequent parking club.
One of the benefits is that even if the lot is full, as a member, you can still get in.
I noticed this the first time when I arrived before my flight and saw a sign that said the lot was full. I scanned my loyalty card and was admitted without trouble.
As I found a place to park, I saw cars parked not just in the standard spots but doubled up on the end caps of rows and in unusual places.
The rules state that you only park in the designated spots. However, this company realized that frequent and loyal customers deserve special exceptions. They bend the rules to accommodate their best customers.
The beauty of this example is that the rules are not broken haphazardly. They are systematic in how they bend the rules. They turn away new customers and accept return customers.
Look at your company’s rules and policies. When the breaking point is reached, how do you handle the next customer that walks through the door?
Do you change your response based on who that customer is? You should.
Consider the situations where your customers will run up against your standard operating procedures. Then think beyond that point and come up with some contingencies that will keep customers happy for the long term.