Service Excellence and What it Means to Have “Ops” in You

Right in the middle of college, on a random Wednesday afternoon, I got a phone call inviting me to interview for a Customer Service Agent position with American Airlines.

Was customer service my passion at the time?Absolutely not.

But I was in college. I needed to pay my bills, wanted a flexible schedule, and (most importantly), was looking for a way into the industry I was studying: aviation. It felt like the perfect “in.” And, of course, the severely discounted standby travel didn’t hurt either 😉

Before that, my only real customer service experience was serving at a small-town diner, where I knew everyone and managing customers felt second nature. Airline customer service, however, was a completely different world.

For those who may not fully know, Customer Service Agents are responsible for checking passengers in, managing boarding, handling lost luggage, rebooking disrupted flights, and keeping aircraft moving on time - often all at once. That can mean standing in front of 200+ people to announce a cancellation after hours of delays, boarding a 190-seat aircraft in seven minutes (yes, that actually happened), and navigating emotional, high-stress situations most people never have to face.

At that point in my life, I was young, emotional, and brand new to the industry. I didn’t yet have the tools or the maturity to consistently deliver exceptional service under pressure. I was influenced by seniority culture, still figuring myself out, and learning lessons the hard way.

Over time, though, my understanding of customer service and leadership changed dramatically.

Because leadership, at its core, is the exact same thing as customer service just delivered to different clients, in a different way. Instead of customers, your clients become your teams, your peers, your executives, and the organization itself. The principles don’t change. You still need honesty. You still need clarity. You still need to manage emotion, explain things calmly, and build trust. Especially when things aren’t going well!

That’s something I’m still learning and refining, even now. And I think that matters. Service excellence and leadership aren’t static concepts. They evolve with experience, context, and perspective.

Since joining Metrolinx, I’ve mostly worked in behind-the-scenes roles. But every role I’ve held has had a customer service component because everything we do ultimately supports our customers.

As a Station Controller, I spent significant time in the field with frontline teams, learning operations firsthand, supporting staff in real time, and interacting directly with customers when needed. That experience continues to shape how I approach my work today.

Yesterday was a reminder of why that matters.

Metrolinx (GO Transit) experienced a significant service disruption caused by a disabled train near Union Station. Like many others, I experienced the disruption as a customer—stuck commuting for over three hours. I was also, upon finally entering the office, redeployed almost immediately to support our teams and customers on the floor, both yesterday and into today as service stabilized.

What stood out to me wasn’t the disruption itself, but how people responded.

Over the years, my definition of service excellence has become much simpler. To me, it means being hones, even when the message isn’t ideal. It means explaining things clearly and slowly, not over-promising, and knowing how and when to de-escalate.

It sounds basic. Almost too basic. But that approach worked exceptionally well.

Despite frustration, long delays, missed connections, and very real reasons to be upset, I didn’t experience a single customer escalating or screaming. People were annoyed, understandably so, but they felt heard. They understood what was happening. And they trusted that someone was being straight with them.

Trust matters more than perfection.

This is also where operations - and leadership - really show themselves.

Some people just have it. The instinct to redeploy immediately. To drop planned work without hesitation. To roll up their sleeves and do what needs to be done.

Not everyone has that instinct, and that’s okay. But over the past day and into today, I saw it everywhere. Team members reassigned their work, supported frontline staff for hours, stayed late into the evening, put family plans on hold, and showed up again today to keep things moving.

That’s operations culture.That’s leadership without a title.

The best operational leaders don’t disappear when things go sideways. They move closer to the work. They remove barriers. They absorb pressure so others don’t have to. Just like great customer service, great leadership shows up most clearly when conditions are far from ideal.

In corporate environments, this is where leadership can get complicated, and where I often struggle.

We spend a lot of time trying to define, design, and standardize leadership and service excellence. We build strategies around what we think those concepts should look like. But the reality is that service isn’t one-size-fits-all. It’s situational. It’s human. And it’s deeply personal.

You can set principles. You can build frameworks. But in the moment, real service and real leadership comes down to judgment, empathy, and action. The best leaders I’ve worked with understand that their job isn’t just to deliver results, but to serve the people doing the work so they can deliver them.

This past day reinforced something simple but important for me. Service excellence isn’t about being perfect.Leadership isn’t about having all the answers.

Both are about being present. About honesty over polish. And about showing up when things are uncomfortable.

Ops people don’t wait to be told. They don’t ask whose job it is. They see the problem and they move.

And when service excellence and operations meet in that moment, trust is built. Things stabilize. And people, customers, teams, and organizations feel it.

I’m still learning. Still refining. Still figuring out the kind of leader and operator I want to be. Heck, isn't everyone? They should be. But I know this for sure: the best service and the best leadership doesn’t come from scripts, slogans, or org charts. It comes from people who care enough to show up when it’s hardest.

And after watching our teams respond yesterday and today, I couldn’t be prouder of the people I get to work alongside.

Until next time,

Graydon.

AI disclosure: This piece was written by me whilst using AI tools to assist with structure, editing, clarity, and image creation — not to generate ideas or replace original thought.