Service ALL of Your Customers for Success in Business and at Work

I will be forever grateful for my early-career Human Resources training: it’s where the concept that everyone was and is my customer: externally, obviously; and internally – above me, in all other departments and functions, team mates and mentees working side-by-side with me, vendors – was reinforced on a daily and sometimes hourly basis.

Even when they are unhappy and loud – in that scenario, my customers at every level and all around me need my help the most.

Aside from the perennial tension between Sales and Operations (which can be eased to a large degree when their respective incentive / bonus goals are identical), one of the most frequent sources of disruption that I have observed in the workplace are employees who are committed to succeeding in over-servicing external customers at the expense of marginalizing and even abusing their internal customers.

It’s a simple behavioral paradox to solve, especially when Customer Service is a key organizational value, like Wegman’s:

We care about the well-being and success of every person.

Wegman’s makes no distinction between internal or external customers – their Customer Service value supports every person.

Therefore, a sales person who is great with external customers but harsh with their internal customers is not acting with organizational integrity.  Nor are they a “great” salesperson with the exception of their internal behavior, because they make their sales goals. They are in fact an employee who needs to gain self-awareness, accountability and acceptance of their conduct which is the opposite of the organization’s values – and they must seek, accept and integrate coaching so they can pivot and be truly successful – either in their current organization, or in a future organization.

How do you service all of your customers for shared success, in business and at work?