Beauty salon manager sabotages her own booking system with strict rules, forcing receptionist to turn away her favorite clients when they show up without appointment: ‘You should have known they were coming’

We all know that workplace rules should apply to everyone and are meant to make employees' lives a little easier. That's the reason they were created and implemented in the first place. The problem arises when some decide they are excluded and keep doing what they were doing before, creating a major problem for the rest of the team. This manager wanted to squeeze in her closest friends and favorite customers without writing them down in the booking system: just having them on her personal phone and telling the receptionist was enough. By following this procedure, the front-desk employee was not following “that new rule," and since she was told to follow it to a T, she couldn't fit them in and didn't book them. 

And by then, she was the only one the manager had roasted. But let's think of her for a second. She was told to implement the new booking rule, and seconds later, the same boss told her to squeeze those clients in. It doesn't make sense. That's how workplace problems keep coming back: some people think they're “too good” to follow rules or regular procedures like everyone else. And that's not the case. Rules and procedures meant to keep everyone on track and organized should apply to everyone, not just some people. And managers, especially those implementing them, should be the first to follow them.

In the end, the rule stood, and the manager had to comply with it. Honestly, that's a relief, since it sounded like a good rule meant to help the booking process run smoothly. Now, I'm not saying I expect every manager to be perfect, but they should at least lead by example and book appointments like the rest of the clients, even for their closest friends, because following your own rules shouldn't be seen as some extraordinary leadership achievement. It's pretty much the bare minimum. 

After all, if a rule only works for a few employees, maybe the problem wasn't the booking system to begin with, but trying to squeeze in people who weren't scheduled in the first place.