Managing for Quality and Performance Excellence 9th Edition by James Evans,William Lindsay

Exercise 59

A service representative of a major U.S. airline told a customer about an internal memo that had been circulated called "No Waivers, No Favors," which promises significant and negative consequences to any employee giving a customer special treatment outside of the airline's strict policies. As the employee noted, "Now, nobody is doing anything until we find out what happens to us if we are a little lenient about enforcing a rule. People are scared." Why do you think that management adopted this policy? What implications will it probably have for customers?