by Richard Vurva

Do you know the three dumbest words a salesperson can say to a customer? They’re dumb words not just for salespeople, but for customer service reps, inside sellers and virtually anyone who comes in contact with customers.

The three dumbest words to come out of a salesperson’s mouth are these: “It’s our policy.”

An experience I had recently with a hotel illustrates how damaging those words can be to a customer relationship.

In early February, I planned a business trip from the magazine’s office in Wisconsin to Phoenix. Unfortunately, on the day I was scheduled to leave town, Mother Nature socked the region with a mix of snow, rain, sleet and thick fog. My flight was cancelled.

Since the next available flight would get me to Phoenix too late, I decided to cancel the trip. After working out the details with the airline to receive a voucher for use the next time I flew Northwest Airlines (free plug), I telephoned the Hotel San Carlos in Phoenix to cancel my hotel reservation for that evening.

I explained my plight to the young woman who answered the phone. She informed me that “It’s our policy” to charge guests for the first night’s stay unless they cancel the reservation at least 48 hours in advance.

“If I knew my flight was going to be cancelled 48 hours in advance, I would have called you then,” I argued.

“Let me talk to my supervisor,” she answered.

After a lengthy delay, she came back on the line to inform me her supervisor refused to budge, uttering the ugly phrase, “It’s our policy” at least three more times.

When customers call your company with a complaint or asking to return merchandise, don’t ever refuse them on the grounds that, “It’s our policy.”

Your customer couldn’t care less about your policy. Either find a way to satisfy your customer’s complaint, or — at the very least — come up with a better phrase to gently let the customer down.

You never know who you might offend. It could be a major customer, or someone with the potential to become a major customer. Or, it could be the editor of a trade magazine who buys paper by the truckload and ink by the barrel, who puts your company’s silly policy in print for all the world to read.

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