Chapter 3: Truth Number 3: It’s Not Your Employees’ Fault

If your company delivers disappointing service on a consistent basis, or even excellent service but only in fits and starts, it's not because you've somehow managed to hire an entire company of people who just don't get it. The problem is much more likely to be that you've built a service model for phantom employees you wish you had — but actually don’t.

Here's one way to think about it: if you run a service business, then your customers "work" for you in many of the same ways that your employees do. But these aren't your average employees. They're erratic, unskilled, and entitled. Their interests and your interests regularly diverge. Employees are contractually bound to work on behalf of the firm, but customers operate under no such constraints. Customers are looking out for number one, as they have every right to do.

There are more aspects of the variability question, but our point here is fairly simple: customers can wreak havoc on your operations. It's what makes us hesitate when we hear "the customer is always right" or that the path to service excellence is to simply delight your clients. Performance can't be sustained by placing customers on a pedestal and indulging their every desire.' To create a system in which excellence is the norm, you need to manage your customers every bit as much as you manage your employees.

Chapter 3: Truth Number 3: It’s Not Your Employees’ Fault

If your company delivers disappointing service on a consistent basis, or even excellent service but only in fits and starts, it's not because you've somehow managed to hire an entire company of people who just don't get it. The problem is much more likely to be that you've built a service model for phantom employees you wish you had — but actually don’t.

There are more aspects of the variability question, but our point here is fairly simple: customers can wreak havoc on your operations. It's what makes us hesitate when we hear "the customer is always right" or that the path to service excellence is to simply delight your clients. Performance can't be sustained by placing customers on a pedestal and indulging their every desire.' To create a system in which excellence is the norm, you need to manage your customers every bit as much as you manage your employees.