There is a story I was aware of when I lived in Maine. It concerns a rather large apparel merchant that was founded in that fair state with its roots in mail order. To keep things simple, I'll call them JJ Sprout.

Now, JJ Sprout has a return policy like no other. It is both quite extraordinary and extraordinarily simple. If you are ever dissatisfied with any of their products, for any reason, they will replace it free of charge. This means that you could buy, say, a pair of slippers from them and wear them all day long every day for years. Slippers are comfortable after all. At some point down the line, the slippers would develop holes in the soles, most annoying. At that point, under JJ Sprout's return policy, you could return the slippers and they would gladly ship you a replacement pair, free. Seems sweet to me. Sounds crazy to some.

According to the legend, back in the day when Mr. Sprout was still involved in the daily operation of JJ Sprout, he would often wander around talking to his staff. One particular day, a new team member had the courage to ask Mr. Sprout a rather direct question. The conversation went something like this:

Brave New Guy

Mr. Sprout, I really enjoy working for your company. You treat your employees fairly and the environment is fun. If it is okay with you, I have one question for you though.

Mr. Sprout

Why certainly son, please feel free to ask anything you want.

BNG

Thank you sir. My question concerns our return policy. Frankly sir, I do not understand it. It seems foolish to replace any product at any time with no questions asked. Someone could buy their entire wardrobe from us once and then get it replaced for free as it wears out. They would never have to spend a penny on clothes again.

The way I imagine this exchange, Mr. Sprout would then purse his lips, furrow his brow, gaze at our brave young lad and generally look thoughtful for a few heartbeats.

MS

Well son, that is an excellent point that you make there. Let me respond to your question with another question. Who should we worry about more, the 2% of our customers who try to take advantage of us or the other 98% who keep us in business?

As I watch various organizations, both from the inside as an employee and from outside as a patron, I often find they focus too much on the few bad apples in the ranks of their customers. Sure, you need to have procedures in place to weed out the thieves (that is what they are), but it is better to err on the side of generosity. The greater sin is to lose a profitable, loyal patron because you or your policies assumed he was trying to take advantage of you when he had nothing but honest intentions. Letting a few bad apples "get away with it" is a small price to pay in order to keep your bread and butter customers content and coming back.

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