Company Policy Can Prevent Sales

Why do companies have policies that are landmines for customer satisfaction? I just heard a story about a friend who had recently completed a series of training classes. She decided to extend the series and pay for more. The company representative said, "First you must take an assessment test and that will cost you over $100." My friend was perplexed. Why should she take an assessment test to continue in the same series with the same instructor? The response she got was "It doesn't make sense but it's company policy." My friend took her money elsewhere.

I don't get it. If management looked at their business and their policies from the eyes of their own customers, it may send them back to do some re-thinking.