Real-Life Decision Making
You are a customer service manager. It's Friday morning and it's been a long week for you. You've had staff members out with the flu and because you're the customer service manager, you've had to cover for everybody!
You're looking forward to a nice, relaxing weekend and you're almost there. "Just a few hours to go," you think to yourself.
You're working on paperwork in your office when one of your tellers knocks on the door. She says:
"Mrs. Forbes wants you to cover an overdraft."
You tell the teller you'll handle it. After all, Mrs. Forbes has been a valuable client for many years.
You make your way out to the counter, look at the computer and gasp. The overdraft is for $8,000! You politely tell Mrs. Forbes that this is too much for the bank to cover.
This happens in banks pretty often. At this point, a customer service manager will tell the customer that the bank has rules about maximum overdrafts. Customer service manager Roy Olsen found himself in exactly this situation.
"I explained I couldn't do this because it was just too much," he says.
She doesn't take the news well. A look of great annoyance comes over her face. She reminds you she's been with your bank for 10 whole years!
You try to explain that you'd normally be happy to cover an overdraft, but this is just too much money.
Mrs. Forbes is getting angry. She threatens to close her account with your bank. This concerns you because she usually has a very substantial balance. Plus, you don't like having unhappy customers!
You quickly consider your options. You could relax the rules a little for her. Tell her that if she deposits half of the $8,000 before noon and deposits the rest over the weekend, you'll agree to cover it.
Or, you could tell her you won't cover an overdraft that large. After all, it's your job on the line.
What do you do?