A New Policy Litmus Test

Here’s a general rule for new company policies:

If your employees have to sheepishly and apologetically inform customers of it, it’s a stupid policy.

Here are two examples from the holiday weekend…

IVs

There’s a landmark pizza place where I used to live. For as long as I can remember, Italian Village – or IVs – has given away ice cream cones via a soft-serve machine they had out in the restaurant. Kids of all ages loved these cones – both the free treat itself and the process of making your own. It was a terrific word-of-mouth trigger.

Until it wasn’t. They started charging for the cones… chalking up another victory for The People Who Ruin Everything.

"Our old machine broke," said the sheepish, apologetic employee, "and the new one cost, like, a thousand bucks."

She was, like, embarrassed to tell us they started charging for cones.

PAGS

Two days later, we were finishing up a $50 lunch at Pagliai’s Pizza – or Pags – when I asked for a drink to go.

"Umm, it’s gonna be fifty cents," said the sheepish, apologetic employee.

"I just bought a $50 lunch. I just want a cup of what I’ve been drinking to go."

"Yeah, sorry. We just started doing it, like, a week ago."

She was, like, embarrassed to tell us they started charging for to-go drinks.

WHAT TO DO

I’m not against businesses making money. Far from it – we only get raises from our clients if their businesses grow.

I’m against, in the first case, companies screwing up great word-of-mouth marketing to the point where it embarrasses the employees and, in the second case, companies being such obvious cheapskates it embarrasses the employees.

Weave the costs into your next minimal price increase. Put the ice cream machine in your ad budget. I could give you several solutions…

…but if you want to build a better company…

…and you do, don’t you?

Don’t come up with a solution yourself. You’re not only good-looking but, like, extremely busy.

Say to your employees:

We implemented this policy because __________. Is there a better way? What would you do? How? Why?

Enrich your culture of ownership.

Ask them what they’d do.

Reward the best plan(s).

You’ll be in for quite a treat.