What’s Wrong With a Clever Cover Story? 578.3
Roy, a service rep, is told one of the salesmen forgot to send an order for window blinds to the factory and, as a result, they won’t be available for another ten days. Roy is asked to call Jenny, the customer, and tell her the blinds won’t be delivered on the date promised.
Roy has a decision to make: What should he tell the customer?
Telling Jenny the real reason will likely infuriate her and cause her to demand a refund or deep discount. This isn’t a good result, so he devises a plausible but false excuse that shifts the blame onto Jenny’s credit-card company. He even makes himself a hero by convincing her he did everything possible to solve the problem and, though his company wasn’t at fault, he convinced his manager to give Jenny a 10 percent discount for her inconvenience.
Jenny is angry at the credit-card company and upset about not getting her blinds, but she’s impressed with the professional way Roy handled the situation. Her loyalty to the company is actually strengthened.
Should Roy be praised or penalized?
The case for praise is that he took a lemon and made lemonade. He turned a bad situation into a good one, and no one was hurt (except, maybe, the credit-card company – and who cares about them?). His little white lie yielded great dividends and was well within the norms of business.
The case for reprimanding or firing Roy is that a good decision must be ethical as well as effective. He was dishonest and, whether his solution worked or not, a company that values trust should not permit dishonesty to be used as a problem-solving tactic.
If you were Roy’s boss, what would you do?
This is Michael Josephson reminding you that character counts.
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Comments
This is very easy. I would deduct the cost for the blinds from his salary.
I would tell the customer the truth.
Give Roy a reprimand, freeze his salary.
Suggest he should go into politics, he has the qualifications.
Fire his gluteus maximusl
Posted by: Dieter Oltersdorf | August 7, 2008 9:29 PM
I'd like to think I would give him a formal warning notice - in our company three warning notices and you are fired. I don't know though - in the press of dealing with customer complaints and business issues that are negative, this could easily "fall through the cracks". The customer is not screaming, so move on. I need something to remind me that character counts in this situation.
Posted by: Marie Flowers | August 8, 2008 8:35 AM
If I were his boss or the owner of the company, I would have some doubts about keeping that employee. He concocted such an elaborate lie that I would be concerned that he would probably also lie to me about his actions or his co-workers' actions to make himself look good.
Posted by: Susan | August 8, 2008 10:46 AM
As a first occurrence, I would speak with Roy - tell him why what he did was wrong and offer some suggestions as to what he might have done instead. It would have been perfectly acceptable to admit there was a miscommunication or a mix-up without pointing blame at anyone, then offer her the discount. More than likely, the customer would have been disappointed but appeased by the offered discount. And what would have happened if, with Roy's solution, the customer called her credit card company to complain and realized that what he had told her was wrong? A subsequent confrontation with Roy or his supervisor (me?) would have undone all the alleged "good" Roy's solution accomplished and made things worse than they were to start with. Always better to be honest and gracious.
Posted by: Cindy | August 8, 2008 11:01 AM
My six-year-old son knows exactly what to do in this situation. It will remind him of the moral lesson he learned from Dr. Seuss's The Cat in the Hat. At the end of the story, the mother came home and the children were asked what they did during the day while she was gone. My son told me to tell the truth than tell a lie because he said people make mistakes and it is better to tell the truth.
Posted by: Anonymous | August 8, 2008 5:13 PM
First, I would have to look at why Roy felt he had to lie. Was he afraid of what management would do to him? Providing a safe environment for employees allows them to be honest. Everyone makes mistakes, even management. By starting with a safe environment, Roy would have known that his mistake was going to cause the customer distress and would have wanted to do everything to make it right for her. Making the mistake should have been the least of his worries...keeping the customer and making good her order should have been the most important issue. When employees have to worry about their safety, they are bound to make unethical decisions. Empowering Roy to make good his mistake by offering a discount without having to grovel or be afraid of what management would do to him builds trust. Of course, the issue would still have to be discussed with management to determine what caused Roy to forget to call in the order. Then a plan of action developed to deter this from happening again in the future. By working with Roy, you build your business. Roy learns how to make better decisions and how to plan; you get a better employee and satisfied customers.
Posted by: Janet | August 11, 2008 8:21 AM