The customer is king. But you can choose your king.

Daniele Catalanotto
Jan 10, 2023
A Service Design principle to reduce the pressure of competing demands and wishes.

One basic notions of service design is that the customer is king. We are not the kings that make all decisions, and people are our servants. Instead, we are here to serve the customers. The notion of being a servant is even in the name of the approach. 

But what happens when your customers have many different demands, needs, and priorities? Over the years, as I'm growing the Swiss Innovation Academy I've noticed something new and interesting: I'm getting in touch with different groups of people, and therefore new problems arise. For example:
  • Some people complain about my street-like language and say that I should stop using words like "fuck", because that offends them
  • Some people say I should be more academic because they miss the complex explanations

But the fact is that I can't serve these people well if I want to continue to serve the other people that say:
  • We love your simple and sometimes colourful language
  • We love how you turn complex topics into simple stories

But still, I want to really be a servant to my customers. But I can't serve both well or I'll be like someone with multiple personalities. 

So with time, I've learned that yes, the customer is king, but I have to choose my king. 

I have to choose who I want to serve and who I accept that the way I serve can make them uncomfortable. 

As more people discover my work, I discover new groups of people with new needs. I decided to recognise some of them as my actual customers, and for some of them, I decided that I was not the right person to serve them. This has helped me to feel less overwhelmed by what could feel like contradicting feedback and also to redirect better the people I can't serve well early on to others who teach service design in a way that fits them better.

Action question

Who are the different types of customers that joined your service over time? Which group do your recognise as your king and want to serve the best? And which groups do you accept to serve less well?

Daniele's notes

  • These are the very first rough notes for this principle.
  • One day, this principle might be part of a book in the series Service Design Principles.
  • Feel free to share opposing ideas, examples and feedback