Great Customer Experience Begins with Great Employees: A Guide for Leaders

Customer Service Starts With Great Management

Customer service is everywhere — in shops, online, over the phone. Every time we interact with a company as a customer, we’re seeing a reflection of its management and leadership.

Pay attention. The way a company treats its customers tells you a lot about what its leaders value – and potentially about how it treats its staff.

The Trust Problem

I once worked with a technical support manager who asked me, as VP of HR, how much it would cost to open the office 24 hours a day — security, lease, insurance, the works. At first, I didn’t understand why.

We sold a cloud solution that allowed teams to work from anywhere. Employees only needed a phone number and internet connection – we used our own technology.

So I asked: “Why do your team members, working overnight for customers in other time zones, need to be in the office?”

Her answer was revealing:
"Because I don’t trust them and need a manager to watch them."

My immediate thought: “Why did you hire people you don’t trust?”

Customer satisfaction was poor, staff turnover high. The team was capable — but they were treated like second-class citizens.

Lesson: You cannot have great customer experience without first creating a great employee experience.

Paul Hawken said this in his wonderful book Growing a Business. (aff link)

👉 Find more great books on my recommended reading list.

Poor Customer Service = Poor Management

Every company with bad customer service has a management problem.

• Miserable front-line staff reflect poor leadership.
• Broken processes, slow responses, and inconsistent policies show where management focuses — or fails to focus — their energy.

Every inflexible store policy, every process that forces customers to do the work themselves, is a sign of weak management.

The fix is simple: motivated, respected, and empowered employees deliver exceptional customer service.

Everyone is Part of the Customer Experience

Customer service isn’t just for the front line. Every department — engineering, HR, operations — contributes to the customer journey.

Here are practical ways to improve customer experience:

1. Hire for the Person, Not Just the Role

Hire people who care, who are positive, who want to do good work. Skills can be taught, attitude can’t.

2. Improve Processes From the Customer’s Perspective

Staple yourself to the work. Understand how systems operate. Then redesign processes to make the customer experience seamless.

3. Treat People Like People

Front-line employees are smart and capable (if you've hired well). Trust them to make decisions that serve customers well. Scripts and rigid rules can stifle judgment. Exceptional customer service treats every customer as exceptional.

4. Role Model Behavior, Don’t Rely on Posters

Mantras, banners, and handbooks won’t change behaviour. Leaders must demonstrate and model great service. Treat staff well, and they will pass that care onto customers.

👉 The 10 Behaviours of Effective Employees is a good place to start.

5. Stop the Customer Blame Game

I’ve seen companies list their “most hated customers” on the wall. This breeds contempt. Instead, identify why customers are unhappy and solve the problems.

6. Don’t Throw Money at Problems

Expensive tools can’t replace thoughtful process improvement. Encourage (and reward) staff to suggest and implement better ways of working. Encourage experimentation — but let them own it with guard rails and leadership support.

After all, it's highly likely that your front line staff know exactly what to do to improve the service – and make their working day better. Listen to them – and support them.

7. Focus on a Great Product or Service First

Customer service can’t compensate for a poor product. Use front-line insights to improve the offering. Consider:

• How much does supporting a bad product cost the business?
• How many customers leave or complain?
• Could improving the product reduce these costs?

Investing in better products and services often delivers more value than fixing service after the fact.

8. Foster Cooperation

Remove silos. Align teams with unified goals. Show that learning, admitting mistakes, and asking for help is encouraged. Everyone in the company is connected; cooperation improves service for customers.

9. Give Time, Focus, and Attention

Let staff spend enough time with customers to genuinely solve problems. Don’t rush interactions. If employees are talented, they’ll know when the customer is satisfied — and the customer will notice.

10. Drop the Policies

Customers want to deal with people, not rigid rules. Most will follow common sense; policies should protect the business, not frustrate the majority.

Final Thought

Customer service is a mirror. Poor service reflects poor management. Excellent service reflects strong leadership, empowered employees, and a focus on real value.

If you can focus on your team first — hire well, empower staff, improve processes, create a great place to work and foster cooperation — the rest follows naturally.

And if you want a practical guide to build your customer support team from scratch, check out my Blazingly Simple Guide to Building a Customer Support Team.