Uncommon sense

I heard a story the other day about a guy who went into a bank all hunched over with a hat covering most of his face and asked for $7,000 out of a checking account. The teller gave him the $7,000, was very friendly, smiled…but she violated policy by not matching the person’s face to the ID. She probably didn’t want to seem rude by asking him to show his face.

A couple of days later he returned—same hunch, same hat over his face, and asked for a similar amount. Once again the teller complied, and once again she violated policy by not matching the face on the ID with the face of the person.

Two days later still, someone posing as his wife came in, also hunched over, cap over her face. This bank ended up losing a lot of money—and the reason is clear. Instead of putting together all of the unusual circumstances—the strange posture, the hat, the large amount of cash—each teller simply allowed a sensible policy to be violated.

Why? Because they allowed themselves to become complacent and ignored a rule because they stopped seeing the need.

It’s an easy thing to fall into. The pattern of customers in, customers out, can dull our alertness. It’s easy to stop noticing the details that matter. That’s WHY sensible policies are in place—to make sure the right thing happens, even when fatigue or boredom or the desire to be polite causes our judgment to lapse.

And a dose of common sense can’t hurt, either.

I remember my days growing up on the dairy farm and the common sense things the farmers would say. Here’s one…Before you tear down a fence, it’s a really good idea to ask why the fence was built in the first place.

One Response to “Uncommon sense”

  1. Pokemon says:

    The fundamental evil of the world arose from the fact that the good Lord has not created money enough.

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