The customer is at the center of the customer's universe.

The customer is at the center of the customer’s universe.

It’s hard, but necessary, to drill this reality into your staff–not just once, but as often as every day–and to keep it in mind, in good times and bad, yourself.

Here’s what “the customer is at the center of the customer’s universe” means in day-to-day language:

• Your hangover doesn’t matter to a customer, even though it’s making you ache behind your eyeballs.

• The traffic jam you suffered through on the way to work doesn’t matter to your customer, even though it’s still rattling around in your head.

• Your frustration with the new technology in the office doesn’t matter to the customer. Even your fascination with nifty new features in the technology doesn’t matter to the customer.