Flyby,
A wise old JFK/LGA Chief Pilot once told me that customer service is like an upside pryamid.

The CEO is at the bottom providing the tools and supporting his VPs. The VPs are the next layer supporting the managers. The managers are supporting the worker bees which are the "face" of the company and they are the company's "internal customers". The worker bees/internal customers in turn take care of the "external customers".

Boiled down to terms even I can understand...you don't take care of your front line employees, they don't take care of your customers.

I'll be here all week, if you want me to sign my NY-Times acclaimed, best-selling, coloring book.

FF