To do What’s Best for Customers, Have an Employee-First Approach

So stop saying that the customer is always right because the employee is right too.

Ryan Fan
The Startup

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Photo by Ahsanization ッ on Unsplash

In teaching, there’s a term called “administrative support” that teachers ask other teachers or people that have experience with the school before they go. Having administration support or not support you in the day-to-day, chaotic functioning of a school can make or break your teaching experience.

These types of administrative support include having administration back up teachers in terms of conflicts with students and parents, being consistent in student discipline, getting materials to teach effectively, and having time to plan lessons regularly. During the pandemic, support looked different, but just giving teachers space and not micromanaging with punitive measures.

I have realized that the hierarchy in education, that goes from administration to teacher to student, however, is very similar to any job, where the hierarchy goes from boss to employee to customer. The boss is the administration for us, the employee is us teachers, and the customer is the students, if we want to use that analogy.

The famous motto that “the customer is always right” which dominates the service industry means that employees and service…

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Ryan Fan
The Startup

Believer, Baltimore City IEP Chair, and 2:39 marathon runner. Diehard fan of “The Wire.”