John Timpson: has the 'elf and safety' culture gone too far? I went to Kendal to see the results. "Why did you bother," said Terry, our shop manager "The special pens for arthritis sufferers have never been used, the hearing aid system blocks our telephone so we can't process credit cards and on the one occasion we used the access ramp, a pedestrian tripped over it and was fortunate not to break her leg. Silly phantom rules keep cropping up. Some developers insist our experienced surveyors go on their half-day safety course before being allowed on site. Box ticking stretched the shop fit of our tiny unit at Canary Wharf, which we could have done in a fortnight, into a job that took over a year. It is still getting worse. The other week one of our area managers was stopped by a jobsworth in Ellesmere Port for carrying display material across the concourse to our new shop without permission. Put someone in a uniform and they invent a new regulation to justify the job. Even more guilty are the "have you had an accident at work" salesmen who accost shoppers to create business for the unscrupulous lawyers that exploit our new "no win no fee" blame society. If you wonder who is paying for this new unwelcome branch of the law look no further than your soaring insurance premiums. I don't like the American risk adverse world driven by best practice and a "proper process." Good customer service isn't created by making everyone stick to a set of rules. We mustn't sit back and let men in uniform get away with claiming "it's more than my job's worth." To show I mean business, I encourage our colleagues to let customers use our shop loo and look after their bags while they do some more shopping and we are more than happy to repair dirty shoes. If you ever get advice that doesn't seem sensible check the statute and you will almost certainly discover it is not in the legislation. Lawyers, accountants, consultants and HR professionals are there to offer advice, they should not run your business. It is time for us to take a few more risks in the name of common sense.