I just had to watch this week’s episode of ‘Undercover Boss’ on Channel 4 http://www.channel4.com/programmes/undercover-boss/episode-guide/series-3 which covered, or rather, uncovered, the world of working for Ann Summers, the store and party plan operator that aims to spice up the lacklustre love lives of the British people.

The sister of the CEO went out ‘undercover’, and I was frankly amazed that she appeared to have absolutely no idea of what went on at the front line of the business. She appeared to be completely terrified of going anywhere near a real, live customer and was, in my opinion, the worst example of someone who is totally divorced from the reality of the business that I have ever seen on the programme, and I have watched every episode.

Surely you would think that Britain’s retailers would have grasped the idea by now that head office people need to get out of their plush offices and connect with the people on the front line if they are really to understand how their business works, and be able to improve it. People who are made to feel special will make their customers feel special – and that doesn’t mean that staff have to be paid a fortune – they just need to be given a good listening to regularly and their suggestions acted on. Most people want to do a good job for their employer, but managers and directors are often very good at putting obstacles in the way of that happening.

I was particularly struck by what happened when the message went around that the CEO of Ann Summers was on her way to a store. It was as if they were expecting a visit from royalty – there is a saying that the Queen thinks everywhere smells of paint and that everyone smiles all the time. Think about it…!

I believe that the most successful businesses of the future will be the ones that engage their staff and create a genuine customer service culture where the customer service professionals at the front line are allowed to please their customers rather than their managers, and where businesses concentrate on building long-term relationships with customers rather than focussing on serving people only once, as tends to happen in many businesses today.