🔧 Fix Recurring Service Problems at the Root

Ever feel like you're solving the same service issue over and over again?

Maybe you've added more staff to handle customer complaints…Or sent your team through another round of training because quality dropped…Or redesigned a process, only to see the same delays crop up a few months later.

If that sounds familiar, you're not alone.

Most recurring service problems don’t happen because your team isn’t trying - they happen because the real issue hasn’t been uncovered or fixed.

Let’s talk about why that happens - and how systems thinking can help you fix the actual root cause.

🚑 Why “Quick Fixes” Don’t Stick

When something goes wrong - slow response times, inconsistent experiences, or rising errors - the natural instinct is to fix what’s right in front of you.

• A spike in complaints? Add more people.

• Delays in processing? Change the workflow.

• Team missing steps? Retrain them.

These solutions can work - for a little while. But if the same issues come back, it’s a clear sign:You're treating symptoms, not root causes.

💬 Reflection Prompt: When was the last time you put out a service fire… only to see it flare up again weeks later?

🔍 Why Recurring Problems Are System Problems

Here’s the truth: Most service breakdowns aren’t caused by one bad step or one bad hire.

They’re created by interactions between people, processes, policies, and tools - in other words, the system.

That’s where systems thinking changes the game. It helps you ask a better question:

“What is the system that keeps creating this result?”

It’s a shift from blame to understanding. And it’s the key to fixing recurring service problems for good.

🧠 What Is Systems Thinking (In Plain English)?

Systems thinking means looking at how everything connects - people, processes, tech, expectations.

It’s the difference between asking:

“Who messed this up?”

vs.

“What’s built into our system that makes this outcome likely?”

It’s how you uncover patterns instead of chasing one-off events - and build fixes that last.

💥 Real-World Example: The Endless Follow-Up Loop

A claims department kept getting complaints from customers about having to “chase up” their claim status.

The fix? Managers retrained reps and updated their scripts.

But weeks later - the same complaints.

When they stepped back, they discovered:

• Claims assessors were stuck doing manual tasks that should’ve been automated

• Reps didn’t have real-time access to updates

• The system literally made it impossible to give customers what they wanted: clarity

Once they streamlined the process and added visibility, the complaints dropped - and the team got breathing room.

That’s the power of fixing the system instead of the people.

🛠️ How to Fix Recurring Service Problems at the Root

You don’t need a full overhaul. Start here:

✅ Step 1: Look for Patterns Are complaints or issues showing up in the same place, time, or team?

✅ Step 2: Ask “What’s Driving This?” Don’t fix the outcome. Find the behaviour or constraint causing it.

✅ Step 3: Map the Experience Sketch out the customer journey - from first contact to resolution.Where’s the friction? Where’s the duplication?

✅ Step 4: Think Systemically Ask:

• Are people working around the system just to get things done?

• Are metrics or tools accidentally reinforcing the wrong behaviours?

💬 Final Thought

If you’re stuck in a loop of recurring service problems, it’s not because you’re not trying - it’s because something in the system is off.

Shift from asking “Who dropped the ball?”

To asking:

“What in our system is making this happen over and over?”

That’s when real improvement begins.