Dress Code or Work Quality?

The story: The team agreed to improve customer service. Stavros sent the email confirming it. When the manager saw her in a T-shirt he challenged her — where was the top-tier customer service? She was confused: she thought customer service meant the quality of her work, not what she wore. He thought presentation was the starting point. Same goal, completely different definitions of what improving it actually meant.

What it means for organisations: "Customer service" is one of the most used and least defined phrases in business. Every team member fills it with their own priority — appearance, responsiveness, tone, expertise, follow-through. When a team commits to improving it without discussing what it means for their specific role and context, each person improves a different thing. The metric stays vague. The gap stays open.