Angry writes:

I am so angry right now. I work with several people in a customer service setting. One of the people I work with will constantly do things for the customers that we don't have permission to do. The reasons are specific - we cannot use past invoices to give the customer a credit card number for security reasons, for example. She has been told not to do this, but will do it anyway.

One specific client will ask for her specifically to get information we are not permitted to give. This customer often will put in complaints about me and another coworker for not doing the things this one person will do for her. Not only is she not following our policy, but she is making us look bad to a customer by superceding the instructions we've already given this customer.

I have explained to her numberous times that this customer sends formal complaints about us to management because she thinks we're just not willing to help her, but she says that she doesn't do the things the client asks. Managemtn believes her because the client is notorious for lying. HOWEVER, today I got a call from the customer asking for this special attention, and I refused, telling her what I am permitted to do. She did not like this, asked for the coworker who does what she is not supposed to do. I contacted my coworker and explained that we need to be on the same page and that we are not permitted to do what she asked.

Guess what? Coworker did it anyway and admitted it in an email because she said the client cited "system issues", which I know for a fact were false because I checked that myself when I spoke to her.

Should I go to the management team about this because this is not an isolated issue? Should I bother to confront the coworker again to see why she contantly makes me look bad?


I would absolutely go to management on this. You've already address the problem with your co-worker and she's refused to change. The rules have been set up for security reasons, and this co-worker is putting your clients' information in danger by breaking these rules.

You needn't feel you're going over your co-worker's head here, because in this particular instance you had a conversation with her about the specific rule she broke, and she did it anyway. Now that you have proof of this security breach in writing, I'd take it to your supervisor and explain that it is an ongoing problem. Let the management take it from there.