Why I Kept 'Customer Service' in my Email Signature: A CEO's Perspective

For over a decade, as Skift has evolved and expanded, my email signature has remained constant. It's been there since our team was just a handful of individuals and it remains as we've grown into a globally-distributed team of 75.

The signature includes my name, my Twitter handle, and a trio of roles: CEO, Founder, and Customer Service. That's the screenshot below

Recipients of my emails have frequently noted this unusual addition, expressing a mix of curiosity and sometimes, admiration for the 'customer service' part of it.

From the outset, accessibility was one of our seven core values. This was especially vital during Skift's early days when my co-founder, Jason Clampet, and I managed all aspects of customer service - from email newsletter subscriptions to password changes.

Eleven years on, we have specialized teams overseeing different aspects of customer service across our vast array of products and services.?

Despite not being involved in daily customer service activities, I still prominently display that role in my signature, and for good reason. I am now more than ever intimately connected with our customers in the global travel industry, a position I consider my 'closest-to-the-customer' service role.

Talking to and listening, it also comes naturally to me, as a former journalist and now when I still do a lot of on-stage interviews for our events.

I speak to at least couple of travel industry executives daily, sometimes even more, be it introductory calls, client calls, prospective speaker meetings, or informal, speculative discussions. Almost all of these are off the record conversations, though I sometimes do interviews for Skift editorial as well.

Also, couple of times a week I end up meeting industry folks in person in NYC, where I live, an advantage of a hub city where everyone comes to or passes through. At our own conferences where I am nominally the host, I end up talking to dozens and dozens of attendees, sometimes more, as a way to get insights, build our business or just relationship building.?

A significant part of my role also involves 'writing-out-loud', stimulating online debates through platforms like LinkedIn, and commenting on other people's posts.

All of these conversations allow me to get great feedback about what we do at Skift, how we are perceived, how we can get better, and what we are missing. I bring insights back into our company by providing editorial ideas or story angles; identify emerging trends that warrant further research; generating leads for sales teams; suggesting new marketing strategies or design concepts; curating conference themes based on industry input from sponsors or speakers; and so much more.

Retaining 'customer service' in my email signature serves as a constant reminder to me of the importance of maintaining close relationships with our customers - the travel industry. This is crucial not only for my role but also for the success of Skift. The day I lose touch with this aspect of my work is the day both I and the company lose connection with and relevance to the industry we serve.