# Great service shouldn’t depend on your best people

Source URL: https://www.gavinscott.me/blog/great-service-shouldnt-depend-your-best-people-gavin-scott-bgsze/

What happens when your best people are compensating for your worst processes? It’s a question I hadn’t realised I was asking when I put last week’s poll to Customer Service and…

All newsletter editions & articles
The Gold Dust Standard ·
30 September 2026
Great service shouldn’t depend on your best people
Originally published in
The Gold Dust Standard on LinkedIn
.
What happens when your best people are compensating for your worst processes? It’s a question I hadn’t realised I was asking when I put last week’s poll to Customer Service and CX leaders.
I asked:
Can a customer service team consistently deliver great CX without strong service foundations?
93% said no.
But what interested me wasn't just the number.
It was
why
.
Because great customer service can still happen without perfect processes.
You can have someone who cares deeply.
Someone who takes ownership.
Someone who knows how to calm a frustrated customer, find a solution and go the extra mile.
And sometimes, that person can create an exceptional experience despite the systems around them.
That's brilliant.
But there's a problem.
You can't build a customer service culture around heroics.
Because what happens when that person is on holiday?
Or off sick?
Or moves to another team?
Or leaves the organisation?
The customer shouldn't suddenly receive a different experience.
That's where strong foundations matter.
Not because every customer conversation should be rigid.
And not because every team member should sound like they're reading from a manual.
Quite the opposite.
Strong foundations should give people the
confidence and freedom to be brilliant.
They provide the knowledge to answer confidently.
The processes to know what happens next.
The authority to take ownership.
The systems to support the conversation.
And the standards that make great service repeatable.
Because consistency doesn't mean every customer gets exactly the same response.
It means every customer can expect the same
level of care, ownership and follow-through.
That's a very different thing.
And perhaps that's the real measure of a customer service culture:
If your best person wasn't working today, would your customers still receive a great experience?
If the answer is no, perhaps the opportunity isn't to find more heroes.
Perhaps it's to build better foundations.
This is what The Gold Dust Standard is about
Every week, I share practical ideas, lessons and conversations to help Customer Service and CX leaders make great experiences
more consistent, more human and more memorable.
If that sounds useful,
subscribe to The Gold Dust Standard
here
.
And if you're a Head of Customer Service or Customer Experience, I'd also love to hear your story.
I'm inviting Customer Service and CX leaders onto the
Customer Service Gold Dust Podcast
to share the lessons, challenges and ideas that could help others in our profession.
👉
Want to join me on the podcast?
Click here to register your interest.
And while you're here, why not listen to one of the previous conversations?
There are some brilliant lessons coming out of these conversations, and I'm looking forward to bringing you many more.
👉
Listen to the Customer Service Gold Dust Podcast here
Because sometimes the smallest things can make the biggest difference to the customer experience.
That's where the Gold Dust is.
Stay memorable,
Gavin
First published in The Gold Dust Standard.
Read or join the conversation on LinkedIn
.
Keep reading.
When customer service sounds too much like a script
Have you ever spoken to a customer service team member and thought:
Read more
Should customers have to get lucky to receive great service?
Here’s a question I recently asked Customer Service and CX leaders:
Read more
Put these ideas to work with your team.
Explore
customer service workshops
for practical team learning, or
consulting
to work through your wider customer experience.
Let’s talk about your customer experience.
Tell Gavin about your team, your event or the challenge you’re working on.
Contact Gavin
Book a discovery call

## Links

- [All newsletter editions & articles](https://www.gavinscott.me/blog/)
- [The Gold Dust Standard on LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/great-service-shouldnt-depend-your-best-people-gavin-scott-bgsze)
- [here](https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/the-gold-dust-standard-7414715447683772416/)
- [Click here to register your interest.](https://calendly.com/gavinscott/gavin-scott-discovery-call)
- [Listen to the Customer Service Gold Dust Podcast here](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/customer-service-gold-dust-podcast/id1553942522)
- [Read or join the conversation on LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/great-service-shouldnt-depend-your-best-people-gavin-scott-bgsze)
- [When customer service sounds too much like a script](https://www.gavinscott.me/blog/when-customer-service-sounds-too-much-like-script-gavin-scott-iqhce/)
- [Read more](https://www.gavinscott.me/blog/when-customer-service-sounds-too-much-like-script-gavin-scott-iqhce/)
- [Should customers have to get lucky to receive great service?](https://www.gavinscott.me/blog/should-customers-have-get-lucky-receive-great-service-gavin-scott-pi9be/)
- [Read more](https://www.gavinscott.me/blog/should-customers-have-get-lucky-receive-great-service-gavin-scott-pi9be/)
- [customer service workshops](https://www.gavinscott.me/workshops/)
- [consulting](https://www.gavinscott.me/consulting/)
- [Contact Gavin](https://www.gavinscott.me/contact/)
- [Book a discovery call](https://calendly.com/gavinscott/30min)