Uncommon Service

Uncommon Service Plot Summary

Introduction

Why is exceptional service so rare in our economy when most companies claim it as a priority? Despite the fact that 80% of jobs are in the service sector, and organizations invest heavily in customer satisfaction initiatives, truly outstanding service remains elusive. The paradox exists because most companies approach service excellence through the wrong lens—focusing on heroic efforts rather than systematic design. The authors present a revolutionary framework that challenges conventional wisdom about service delivery. At its core is the counterintuitive notion that great service isn't about trying to be excellent at everything, but rather making strategic trade-offs. Four fundamental truths drive this framework: you can't be good at everything; someone has to pay for service excellence; service failures are rarely your employees' fault; and customers must be actively managed. These principles, when multiplied by a supportive organizational culture, form the foundation for building service organizations where excellence becomes the norm rather than the exception. By addressing these elements systematically, leaders can transform ordinary service interactions into extraordinary experiences that create lasting competitive advantage.

Chapter 1: Truth 1: Strategic Trade-offs Drive Excellence

Service excellence requires making deliberate choices about where you will excel and where you will underperform. This first truth shatters the conventional wisdom that outstanding service means being great at everything. In reality, trying to excel on every dimension leads inevitably to mediocrity. Excellence requires focus, and focus demands trade-offs. The principle works because resources—time, money, energy, attention—are inherently limited. When spread too thin across too many priorities, no single aspect receives enough investment to achieve excellence. Strategic trade-offs allow organizations to concentrate resources where they matter most to their target customers. Commerce Bank exemplified this approach by deliberately offering the worst interest rates in the banking industry. This seemingly counterintuitive choice funded extended operating hours and exceptional staff attitudes—attributes their target customers valued far more than competitive rates. This truth operates according to the laws of physics that product designers understand intuitively. Apple's engineers know that making the MacBook Air exceptionally light means sacrificing some features. Volvo prioritizes safety over sportiness. IKEA sacrifices durability for affordability and style. These companies understand that excellence emerges from constraints, not from ignoring them. The difference is that service organizations often behave as if these physical laws don't apply to them, pursuing the impossible goal of being the lowest-cost, highest-quality, fastest-moving provider simultaneously. To implement this principle, organizations must create "attribute maps" that rank service dimensions according to what matters most to their target customers. Southwest Airlines excels at low prices and friendly service while deliberately underperforming on amenities and network breadth. Walmart delivers unbeatable prices and selection while intentionally underperforming on sales help and ambiance. The pattern of success shows high performance on dimensions customers value most and low performance on dimensions they value least. The most challenging aspect isn't the strategic thinking but the emotional hurdle of deliberately choosing to be bad at something. This discomfort explains why so many service organizations remain trapped in mediocrity. They lack the courage to make the clear trade-offs that would allow them to achieve excellence where it truly matters. Overcoming this psychological barrier is the first step toward uncommon service.

Chapter 2: Truth 2: Funding Service Through Smart Mechanisms

Exceptional service must be funded somehow. Without a reliable funding mechanism designed into the business model, organizations risk delivering "gratuitous service"—elements customers happily consume but never pay for. Understanding the four potential funding mechanisms for service excellence allows organizations to create sustainable models rather than initiatives that eventually collapse under financial pressure. The first funding approach is charging customers more for superior service, but in a palatable way. While some premium brands like the Hotel Cipriani can command prices 50% higher than competitors, most markets won't tolerate such premiums. Commerce Bank found a clever alternative: offering interest rates half a percentage point lower than competitors. This approach spread the cost of extended hours and superior service across all customers in a way that felt less painful than direct fees. Southwest Airlines similarly created a "freedom from fees" proposition that customers found more appealing than competitors' nickel-and-diming approaches. The second mechanism involves making cost reductions that simultaneously improve service. Progressive Insurance deployed immediate-response vans that arrived at accident scenes before police or tow trucks. This service delighted customers but also dramatically reduced costs by fighting fraud, minimizing legal claims, and allowing better control of repair costs. This approach requires focusing first on major cost drivers, then designing customer-pleasing solutions that address those costs. The third funding mechanism involves service improvements that reduce costs elsewhere. Intuit founder Scott Cook famously had product engineers handle customer support calls, creating an expense that ultimately paid for itself by reducing future calls. Engineers gained firsthand knowledge of customer pain points, which they used to make subsequent versions more intuitive. Similarly, Zappos views exceptional service as a marketing investment that reduces traditional advertising costs while generating word-of-mouth that drives business growth. The fourth mechanism involves enabling customers to serve themselves in ways they actually prefer. Unlike frustrating self-service grocery checkouts, airline kiosks succeed because they give customers more control and information than the full-service alternative. The graphical seat selection chart provides transparency that no amount of conversation with an agent could match. This approach works when self-service is designed to be so good that customers would choose it even when full service is readily available. The ultimate funding strategy often combines multiple mechanisms, creating a virtuous cycle where service excellence pays for itself through reduced costs, increased loyalty, and customer willingness to participate in value creation.

Chapter 3: Truth 3: Systems Design Enables Average Employees to Excel

If your company delivers disappointing service consistently, the problem isn't your employees—it's your service model. Most organizations make the mistake of designing systems for employees they wish they had rather than the ones they actually employ. The truth is that service excellence doesn't require extraordinary people performing heroic feats; it requires thoughtful systems that enable ordinary people to deliver exceptional results routinely. Service inconsistency often stems from what the authors call "try-harder solutions"—the flawed belief that because some employees occasionally deliver excellence, everyone should be able to with sufficient effort. This assumption ignores two realities: first, not all employees are superstars; second, most organizations make employees' jobs unnecessarily difficult through operational complexity. In one quick-service restaurant studied, the number of menu items had quadrupled in just a few years, and cashiers had 55 different ways to ring up the signature drink. No wonder service suffered. A successful employee management system addresses this challenge through four integrated elements. First, selection identifies the specific traits needed for service excellence. Southwest Airlines famously evaluates potential hires not just for confidence but for empathy, watching how job candidates react when others share embarrassing stories. Commerce Bank looked for people with the "smiley gene" who naturally displayed a positive demeanor, recognizing that an eight-hour day required eight hours of smiling. Second, training reinforces both technical skills and cultural alignment. Bugs Burger Bug Killers (BBBK), an extraordinarily successful pest control company, invested five months in training new hires—far beyond the industry standard. Zappos offers all new employees $2,000 to quit after training, ensuring only those truly aligned with the company's values remain. Both approaches weed out mismatches before they impact customers. Third, job design simplifies work to match employee capabilities. LSQ Funding Group created intuitive IT systems that allowed new hires to feel "capable and empowered" on day one, eliminating extensive technical training. This simplified design allowed the company to prioritize attitude and cultural fit in hiring while achieving exceptionally low turnover in an industry known for high churn. Fourth, performance management creates incentives for excellence and consequences for poor service. BBBK combined significant financial incentives with rigorous oversight, requiring specialists to document every customer interaction while managers followed up directly with clients. The company's philosophy—"mistakes are forgiven; liars are not"—created accountability while acknowledging human imperfection. The message is clear: stop blaming employees and start fixing the systems they work within. When faced with a gap between employee capabilities and job requirements, organizations have two choices: change the people or change the job. Since replacing people is rarely feasible, the most effective approach is typically to reduce operational complexity and redesign jobs so average employees can routinely deliver exceptional service.

Chapter 4: Truth 4: Customer Management as Operational Strategy

Customers don't just consume services; they participate in creating them. This fundamental truth means service organizations must actively manage their customers as operational assets, not just marketing targets. When customers take five minutes to supersize an order, arrive late for appointments, or provide vague specifications, they directly impact service quality for themselves and others. The authors call this phenomenon the "customer-operator." Customer-operators introduce tremendous variability into service operations. This variability takes multiple forms: arrival (when customers want service), request (what they want), capability (their knowledge and skills), effort (how much they invest), and preference (their definition of quality). This unpredictability is the enemy of efficient operations, yet service businesses must somehow accommodate it. The typical response is a stark trade-off between efficiency (reducing variability) and service quality (accommodating variability). Successful service organizations overcome this trade-off through sophisticated customer management systems built around four components similar to employee management. First, customer selection identifies which clients fit the service model. Shouldice Hospital, renowned for hernia repairs, only accepts otherwise healthy patients who can actively participate in their recovery. Progressive Insurance uses comparison quotes to attract profitable, low-risk drivers while directing high-risk ones to competitors. Second, customer training equips people to perform their operational roles effectively. Starbucks brilliantly trains customers in a specialized ordering language through a combination of helpful materials and subliminal influence, as baristas repeat orders back in "Starbucks-speak." This standardization dramatically improves operational efficiency without customers feeling manipulated or inconvenienced. Third, customer job design creates intuitive ways for customers to contribute value. Magazine Luiza, a Brazilian retailer serving low-income, often illiterate rural customers, designed virtual stores where simplified interfaces and supportive staff guide customers through unfamiliar purchasing processes. LSQ Funding Group extended its intuitive IT systems to clients, allowing them to upload data directly while gaining valuable insights about their own customers' payment histories. Fourth, customer performance management provides incentives for desirable behaviors. Zipcar, the car-sharing service, relies on customers returning vehicles clean, refueled, and on time. Beyond financial penalties, Zipcar emphasizes community membership and shared values, hosting social events where members meet each other and internalize their responsibilities to the group. This normative approach proves more effective than purely financial incentives. The organizations that excel at customer management understand that service excellence requires going beyond treating customers well to actively engaging them as co-producers of value. By designing systems that make it easy and rewarding for customers to perform their operational roles effectively, these companies turn potential chaos into a powerful competitive advantage.

Chapter 5: Truth 5: Culture as Multiplier of Service Design

Culture is the invisible foundation that animates an organization's service model. While structural elements like trade-offs and funding mechanisms create the conditions for excellence, culture determines whether those conditions consistently translate into exceptional experiences. The authors' formula captures this relationship: Service Excellence = Design × Culture. With either factor missing or weakened, sustainable excellence becomes impossible. Culture manifests through artifacts (physical environments), behaviors (visible actions), and shared basic assumptions (the underlying beliefs that drive decisions). At IDEO, the celebrated design firm, culture is immediately visible through unconventional workspaces, brainstorming protocols, and an ethos that celebrates experimentation and rapid prototyping. But the company's sustained creative excellence stems from deeper shared assumptions about risk-taking and collaboration. As founder David Kelley explains, "Failure is part of the culture...we call it enlightened trial and error." Building a culture of service excellence requires three key elements. First, clarity means knowing exactly what cultural attributes will drive your performance objectives. Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh articulated ten core values, including "Deliver WOW through service" and "Create fun and a little weirdness," that perfectly align with the company's business model. Everyone from executives to call center representatives understands how these values translate into competitive advantage. Second, signaling involves relentlessly communicating cultural values, particularly during moments when people are most receptive. JetBlue founder David Neeleman famously served coffee on flights monthly, signaling that no one was above serving customers. Zappos conducts cultural fit interviews that both screen for alignment and communicate expectations through questions like "Which would you prefer, a ten percent raise or meeting a new friend?" Sewell Automotive uses storytelling during orientation to illustrate its service standards, with executives sharing tales of extraordinary efforts that bring abstract values to life. Third, consistency means reinforcing culture through everyday operations and decision-making. As Mayo Clinic's Glenn Forbes observed, "If you've just communicated a value but haven't driven it into operations, policy, decision-making, resource allocation, and ultimately the culture, then it's just words." Zappos removes the typical three-minute call limit for service representatives, allowing them to spend as long as needed with customers—including an eight-hour record call. The company also evaluates employees based 50% on "contribution to culture and core values." Culture also requires regular "decalcification" to prevent employees from developing cynicism or dehumanizing customers. Kaiser Permanente discovered that in high-stress call centers, employees needed cultural renewal every four hours to maintain empathy and service orientation. Other organizations use peer recognition, social events, and regular storytelling to keep cultural values fresh and meaningful. The organizations that excel at culture building understand that excellence isn't just about what employees do but about how they think. By aligning beliefs with behaviors and reinforcing both through consistent systems, these companies create environments where uncommon service becomes the natural expression of shared values.

Chapter 6: Truth 6: Scaling Excellence Through Standardization and Focus

Growing a successful service operation presents unique challenges. Organizations can either scale their existing model (doing more of what they already do) or develop new models (doing different things). Both paths require strategic choices that many companies fail to make effectively, leading to growth that undermines rather than enhances service excellence. Scaling an existing service model typically requires increased standardization. This necessity often creates anxiety, as standardization seems to contradict the personalized attention that defines great service. However, companies like Four Seasons demonstrate that high standardization can coexist with exceptional service quality. While each Four Seasons property reflects local culture, the underlying service elements follow consistent protocols, creating reliability that allows for rapid growth without sacrificing excellence. The challenge is finding the right balance between customization and standardization. Orient Express Hotels delivers extraordinary personalized service at properties like the Hotel Cipriani, but this high-customization approach limits growth potential. In contrast, Chipotle achieved remarkable scale through a business model that standardizes back-end operations while allowing point-of-sale customization. Customers can personalize their meals from standardized ingredients, creating the perception of customization without the operational complexity. When existing service models face focused competitors targeting specific customer segments, organizations often respond defensively, moving through stages of denial, anger, rationalization, and despair before reaching acceptance. A more productive approach is to become what the authors call a "multifocused firm," with multiple service models under one corporate umbrella. Best Buy created Magnolia, a premium store-within-a-store, to serve high-end customers without confusing its core demographic. Armani developed A/X for younger, price-sensitive fashion enthusiasts while maintaining its high-end boutiques. These multifocused firms succeed through shared services that create mutual benefits across models. The CDM Group, a healthcare advertising agency, centralized back-office functions like finance, HR, and IT across its network of specialized agencies. This approach not only reduced costs but also improved service by allowing each agency to access capabilities none could afford individually. Most importantly, CDM developed mechanisms for sharing knowledge across units, creating what the authors call "economies of experience." Zappos similarly expanded beyond its core business through acquisitions like 6pm.com (a discount retailer) and services like Powered By Zappos (fulfillment for other companies). These extensions leveraged Zappos' existing operational strengths while reaching new customer segments, creating synergies that made each business stronger than it would be independently. The greatest barriers to this shared-services approach are organizational politics (determining which functions to centralize) and quality concerns (ensuring shared services meet or exceed external alternatives). Successful implementation requires clear leadership from the top, with executives willing to make powerful people uncomfortable by drawing firm lines between centralized and decentralized functions. As Yum Brands (parent of KFC, Taco Bell, and Pizza Hut) demonstrated, decisive leadership can overcome resistance and create lasting value through operational synergies.

Summary

Uncommon service is not achieved through heroic effort or extraordinary talent, but through deliberate design choices that enable average people to deliver excellence as a routine. The four service truths—making strategic trade-offs, funding service intelligently, designing systems for employee success, and actively managing customers—multiplied by supportive culture create the foundation for sustainable service excellence. The journey to uncommon service begins with honesty: accepting that you can't be good at everything, that resources must come from somewhere, that system design matters more than individual effort, and that customers require management just as employees do. Organizations that embrace these truths find that service excellence isn't just possible but profitable, creating meaningful differentiation in crowded markets. By building service models that align with customer priorities, fund themselves sustainably, enable employee success, and engage customers productively—all within a culture that reinforces these elements—any organization can transform the service experience from frustrating to remarkable.

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Frances Frei

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