Managing People
Case 1 – What Customers Don’t Know Won’t Hurt Them, or Will it?
Sitting at her desk at the car rental shop where she worked, Elena couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Gripping the phone tightly, Elena listened as the head manager of the company’s legal department told her that a car that she had recently rented to a customer had blown a tire while the customer was driving on a nearby highway. Although the customer, Jim Reynolds, tried to maintain control of the vehicle, he crashed into another car, seriously injuring himself and the other driver. Apparently, the tire had noticeable structural damage that caused it to blow. Elena stared at her desk in shock as the legal department manager asked whether she was aware of the tire’s condition before renting the car to Mr. Reynolds.
“ I . . . I’m sorry, what did you say?” asked Elena. “ I asked whether you were aware that the tire was damaged before renting the car to Mr. Reynolds,” repeated the manager.
Elena paused, thinking back to when she had rented the car to Mr. Reynolds. Unfortunately, she knew the answer to the manager’s question, but she did not know whether she wanted to answer it. Her mind raced with worried thoughts about how she let herself get into this position, and then she remembered when her supervisor first told her to lie to a customer.
Elena had started working for the rental car company 2 years ago. Fresh out of college, she was intrigued by the possibilities of joining a company and moving up the ranks into management. She worked hard, sometimes putting in 50 or more hours a week. And she was good at her job, too. Customers would frequently tell her supervisor of Elena’s great service and courtesy. Within no time, the supervisor began telling her that she was a strong candidate for management and would probably be running her own rental office within the next year.
Intrigued with becoming a manager, Elena began to work even harder. She was the first one at the office each
Sitting at her desk at the car rental shop where she worked, Elena couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Gripping the phone tightly, Elena listened as the head manager of the company’s legal department told her that a car that she had recently rented to a customer had blown a tire while the customer was driving on a nearby highway. Although the customer, Jim Reynolds, tried to maintain control of the vehicle, he crashed into another car, seriously injuring himself and the other driver. Apparently, the tire had noticeable structural damage that caused it to blow. Elena stared at her desk in shock as the legal department manager asked whether she was aware of the tire’s condition before renting the car to Mr. Reynolds.
“ I . . . I’m sorry, what did you say?” asked Elena. “ I asked whether you were aware that the tire was damaged before renting the car to Mr. Reynolds,” repeated the manager.
Elena paused, thinking back to when she had rented the car to Mr. Reynolds. Unfortunately, she knew the answer to the manager’s question, but she did not know whether she wanted to answer it. Her mind raced with worried thoughts about how she let herself get into this position, and then she remembered when her supervisor first told her to lie to a customer.
Elena had started working for the rental car company 2 years ago. Fresh out of college, she was intrigued by the possibilities of joining a company and moving up the ranks into management. She worked hard, sometimes putting in 50 or more hours a week. And she was good at her job, too. Customers would frequently tell her supervisor of Elena’s great service and courtesy. Within no time, the supervisor began telling her that she was a strong candidate for management and would probably be running her own rental office within the next year.
Intrigued with becoming a manager, Elena began to work even harder. She was the first one at the office each