Client Experience Isn’t a Department. It’s a Leadership Habit
In 2012, my partner and I joined the Detroit Athletic Club (DAC), a place with real history. Founded in 1887, in the same clubhouse since 1915, and sitting right in the middle of a Detroit that feels alive again.
When we joined a club of 3,800+ members, we assumed we’d be a number on a roster.
We were wrong.
From the doormen to the locker room attendants, to the wait staff (and everyone in between), they somehow make you feel like you’re the most important person in the building. Not in a fake, “service script” kind of way. In a “we actually see you” kind of way.
Recently, we had a chance to speak with the executive manager, and we took the opportunity to tell him how impressed we’ve been. In the middle of that conversation, he shared something that stuck with me:
“Every team leader is challenged to help their team members get better, personally and professionally, every single year.”
That’s it. That’s the whole thing.
Not “hit the numbers at all costs.” Not “keep the member happy no matter what.” It’s a leadership expectation that says: you are responsible for developing people.
And what he described is the classic win/win:
The member wins because they experience excellence.
The team member wins because they’re becoming better, not just at work, but as a person.
And the organization wins because that kind of culture compounds over time.
Related Read: The Non Fuzzy Reason You Need a Positive Corporate Culture
Here’s the question I walked away with, and it’s the same one I’ll ask you:
Do your customers feel like we always have at the DAC?
If the answer is “yes,” keep going — and protect whatever is producing that experience.
If the answer is “not consistently,” that doesn’t automatically mean you have a customer problem.
It usually means you have a team development problem.
Because customer experience is rarely a strategy sitting in a binder. It’s the downstream effect of how people feel inside your organization.
Related Read: Culture Is Everything: What I Didn’t Know I Was Missing
What’s really driving the experience you’re getting?
At Doescher Group, we spend a lot of time around leadership teams who want growth, but are also dealing with the reality that they can’t be everywhere at once. When the owner is the glue, customer experience tends to depend on whether the owner is in the room.
That’s not a scalable plan.
If you want a consistent customer experience, you need consistent leadership habits and consistent people development. In practical terms, that often looks like:
Clear expectations for each role (so people know what “great” looks like)
Training that builds confidence (not just compliance)
Leaders who coach, not just manage
Processes that support the work (so service isn’t dependent on heroics)
A rhythm of feedback and improvement (so the team keeps getting better)
What to do Now
If you’re serious about building a business that delivers a “DAC-level” experience without you personally orchestrating it, start here:
Ask your leaders: “How are you helping your people get better this year?”
Ask your team: “Do you feel like you’re growing here — or just working here?”
Ask your customers: “When do we feel exceptional? When do we feel average?”
Look for the pattern: the answers will point to systems, leadership gaps, or both.
If you want an outside set of eyes to help you connect the dots — between culture, leadership habits, systems, and customer experience — we do that work every day.
Because the real goal isn’t just happy customers.
It’s a company where your people get better every year… and your customers can feel it.
