People have goals and perceptions going into the conversation. If they want a manager they have already decided sometimes before the conversation starts that th

People have goals and perceptions going into the conversation. If they want a manager they have already decided sometimes before the conversation starts that the conversation with the underling will not serve those ends. They go into the conversation with the manager with the expectation that the superior has the tools and intelligence to do the job and ergo actually listen. This isn't necessarily a failing on your side and it may not be something you can correct. Things that work - You can speak to the manager but the manager is an expert in managing people I am the expert in <subject matter>. I can resolve your issue. - You can speak to the manager but there will be a wait of up to 10 minutes and in that same time frame we could have already resolved your issue. - I know you want to do <impossible/illegal/crazy thing> in order to achieve <end> but the <system/law/policy> wont allow us to do that that way but fortunately there is another way to achieve <end> and we can get started on that right now. - I'm required to collect information about such issues before sending it up. I'll make it quick can I ask you a few questions about why you want to speak to the manager? <sympathetic sounds/interjections followed by a casual insertion of the obviously beneficial solution> However there are plenty of cases where the thing desired is the perceived importance of having someone themselves important take the case as it were and you can't replicate that without at least the pretense of importance. For instance when I was a low level supervisor at a retail establishment I came to the service desk on a number of occasions to deal with customer issues knowing no more than them and not even being over their area thus having LESS authority. They just wanted to jabber at someone in a collared shirt.