Why is Service Delivery Falling Apart?

What I Experienced 

Over the past two weeks, I encountered four separate service failures, each from well-established businesses in the private sector. These were not small operations and neither very large either. More SME related, and each had its own internal forms of documentation systems in place. Yet, in every instance, the service still broke down. The result? Lost time, unnecessary expenses, and mounting frustration. 

What I Learned 

Reflecting on these experiences, two major issues stood out: 

Breakdowns in communication (Broken Telephone) 
Poor implementation of systems, despite having documentation in place. 

It’s clear that documentation alone is not enough. Communication, follow-up, and consistent follow-through are just as critical. These elements are often overlooked but make the difference between systems that work and systems that frustrate. In all four cases, technology could have played a much stronger supporting role. 

In today’s fast-paced world, relying solely on verbal instructions or human memory is risky. People often take shortcuts to avoid red tape or inefficiencies. While this might seem helpful in the moment, it creates blind spots in execution, especially when context isn’t shared or passed along correctly. 

Worse still, critical details are often lost in handovers. The next person in the chain may not fully grasp the nuance, urgency, or complexity of the task at hand. On top of that, task overload is a growing issue. Teams are under pressure to move quickly, and in the rush, things slip through the cracks. 

Questions Worth Asking 

To turn the tide, we need to ask ourselves (and our teams) some tough questions: 

 – Are our systems intuitive, or do they confuse and slow us down? 
 – Are we working with our systems, or for them? 
 – How much time does our team actually spend navigating internal tools instead of delivering value? 
 – Do our clients enjoy interacting with our systems, or do they dread it? 
 – Are we designing experiences that are quick, seamless, and frustration-free?
 – Most importantly: Have we taken the time to experience our own service from the client’s perspective? 

Final Thought 

True service excellence is not just about having systems in place; it’s about designing them with people in mind. That means reducing friction, improving transparency, and ensuring critical information flows across every touchpoint. Only then can we begin to close the growing gap in service delivery.