Service is a "Top Down" Enterprise

One of our clients has a relatively small sales and service operation. There are only a handful of front-line associates taking orders and another handful providing customer service. On one of my initial visits to the clients office, I was surprised by a loud beep that could be heard throughout the building. I was also surprised to see a few people scrambling back to their offices in response. Fire drill? Air raid?

The beep had nothing to do with weather or disaster. It was a warning of another kind. It was the warning of customers not being served. I learned that day that everyone in the company is responsible for answering the phones when things get busy. It doesn't matter what level you are within the company. If the customers are calling and calls are in queue, then everyone drops what they are doing to take care of the customers.

One of the most frequent complaints I hear from front line associates is that supervisors, managers and executives are unwilling to pick up the phone and talk to customers. In many cases, I've found it to be true. Customer service culture is a top-down enterprise. There is something to be said about a company that will truly make taking care of the customer their top priority - and will drop everything to take care of that customer when he or she calls.

What kind of service culture do you work in? Do you agree that the attitudes of those at the top of the organizational chart affect the service attitude on the front line? Why, or why not?