workers are the lifeblood of a company, NOT customers. the current "customer obsessed mindset" that a lot of modern companies say they have is just another way to deprioritize workers and their rights. increasing hours, decreasing pay, creating fucked up schedules, imposing strict (nonsensical) metrics, forcing people to adhere to scripts, etc. all in the name of "customer outcomes".

and on the practical side, catering solely to customers is a surefire path to ruining a once good product. customers say they want all sorts of shit totally unrelated to what's at the core of a product. this is how you get catch-all software that used to work fine at the 5 things it did now trying to do 35 things in the name of making customers happy.

(also this is all underpinned by the need for infinite growth, make no mistakes there. saying that it's "for the customer" is a veneer on utterly deranged profit motives that only make sense if you think the world's going to end next quarter)

if you want to make customers happy, make workers happy. cater to their needs. listen to what they know. people want to be good at their jobs. people genuinely want the companies they work for to succeed. ignoring workers is not just shitty, it's incredibly short-sighted and stupid.

"Listen to what a customer tells you when something is wrong. Don't listen to them tell you how to fix it."

I think about that a lot. The 'customer' has no goddamn idea, in the main, what happens to get a product in front of them. It's like the "just make good video games!!!!!!" school of Twitter critics: your ideas might be great but your solutions are dumb as shit.

So yeah, balls to customers. Workers know what the fuck they're doing and should be trusted with more responsibility.

Also pockets on their uniforms, McDonald's.