Last week I wrote about how most systems don’t fail — leadership stops protecting them.
Customer exceptions are one of the clearest ways that erosion shows up.
In supply chain, customer service has long been positioned as a key differentiator — alongside technology. The belief runs deep: anyone can move your freight, but we do it with a smile. We answer emails no matter when they come in. We keep customers constantly updated. We pride ourselves on being “all about customer service.”
That mindset worked — for a time.
But just as technology has evolved, our definition of customer service has to evolve too.
If you have more than a handful of “customer exceptions,” your system isn’t flexible.
It’s already broken.
A customer exception is not a relationship strategy or a service differentiator. Technically, it is a process that bypasses standard controls. And every bypass has consequences.
What usually happens looks reasonable at first. A customer request escalates to Sales leadership. Sales leadership agrees — often in a leadership-to-leadership conversation — to “take care of the customer.”
The problem isn’t intent.
The problem is distance.
At that level, leaders rarely have detailed visibility into desk-level processes. They don’t see how a one-off request actually executes. So the exception feels small — even harmless.
This is exactly where organizations miss an opportunity.
Instead of approving the exception in isolation, this is the moment to pull in a middle manager — and empower them.
Middle managers sit in a uniquely valuable position. They understand the operational detail at the desk level and the broader strategic intent of the organization. They can evaluate whether a request is:
- operationally viable
- system sustainable
- and capable of being delivered without breaking controls
More importantly, they can propose alternative solutions that meet the customer’s underlying need — not just the surface request.
That requires something many organizations struggle with:
allowing a middle manager to say no to someone more senior.
Not as resistance — but as strategy.
True customer service isn’t about giving customers whatever they ask for. That definition is far too limiting. It traps organizations into reactive behavior.
Real customer service is about delivering what customers actually need — often before they can articulate it themselves. Stability. Predictability. Transparency. Solutions that scale.
You don’t deliver that by stacking exceptions.
You deliver it by building exceptional systems, leveraging technology intentionally, and treating customer service as a qualified, informed function — not an endless accommodation engine.
Systems are very good at this. They enforce rules, create predictability, protect margin, and produce data that can be trusted. What systems can’t do is have uncomfortable conversations.
That’s still a leadership responsibility.
Customer exceptions persist because saying no feels disruptive. Holding the line ruffles feathers. And approving the workaround feels faster than redesigning the solution.
So exceptions get approved.
The downstream impact is predictable. Operations works around the system. Finance loses confidence in the data. Reporting becomes defensive. And eventually, the system gets blamed for behavior it was never designed to allow.
This is not a technology failure.
It’s a control design and enforcement failure.
Strong organizations treat exceptions as intentional decisions — clearly defined, formally approved, tightly governed, and deliberately rare. They protect their systems by empowering the people closest to the work to be strategic, not just compliant.
Before approving the next workaround, it’s worth pausing to ask:
👉 Is this request truly customer service — or is this the moment to involve the people who can design a solution that works for the customer and the system?
Because once exceptions become normal, clarity disappears.
ALL2S CONSULTING LLC 