All too often we hear comments from agents about how they are unable to help a customer because a manager in another division has set down policy that is so rigid and inflexible that it can cause frustration for both the agent and, more importantly, the customer.

I experienced such an instance when I called a company to get a settlement figure on a finance agreement – the agent said they could not give me a figure as I had missed a payment sometime in the past – despite the fact that every payment has been made over the past 3 years except one which was when I changed bank, they refused to help me as it was company policy! These sort of policies destroy, not build customer loyalty as there was no exception whatsoever.