Did you find everything you were looking for?

A friend shared the following story about his experience at a major food and housewares retailer in downtown Chicago.  As he was checking out, this is the exchange he had with the cashier:

Cashier:  “Did you find everything you were looking for?”

Friend:  “No.”

Cashier:   (silence, accompanied by a bored look)

Friend:  “Don’t you want to know what I couldn’t find?”

Cashier:  (silence, accompanied by a puzzled look)

Friend:  “I said, don’t you want to know what I couldn’t find?”

Cashier:  “o.k.”

Friend:  “I couldn’t find cumin, it’s a spice.”

Cashier:  “I never heard of that.”

We can excuse her for not knowing what cumin is, but more to the point she didn’t seem to know why she entered into this conversation to begin with.  She was trained to ask “did you find everything you were looking for?” but she didn’t appear to grasp the reason for asking.  Had it ever been explained to her?  Had she ever been told about what to do if a customer responded “no” as my friend did?  It sure didn’t look that way.  It’s too bad, because just giving her a one-question script demeans her intelligence, and it creates an empty, pointless encounter for both parties.  

This incident highlights the importance of making sure that employees understand why certain policies and procedures are in place.  How many practices do your people apply haphazardly, incorrectly, or indifferently because they don’t appreciate the business rationale behind them?