What M&S Staff Taught Me About Client Relationships During Crisis
BRAND RELATIONS CASE STUDY: M&S CYBER ATTACK
TL;DR: Watching retail staff navigate a major cyber attack revealed the difference between transactional customer service and relationship-first business building. Solo creators can learn powerful lessons about client loyalty, crisis communication, and sustainable business relationships from how front-line workers maintain human connections when systems fail.
Six weeks ago, Marks & Spencer was hit with a major cyber attack. Whilst I was in store I watched their staff navigate this crisis, I had a revelation about the difference between businesses built on systems versus businesses built on relationships.
Every day, these staff members walked into work not knowing if the tills would function, if payments would process, or if they'd spend another shift apologising for failures beyond their control. Yet something remarkable happened: their most loyal customers stayed loyal, not to the brand, but to the people.
This crisis became an unexpected masterclass in relationship-first business principles that every solo creator needs to understand.
The Crisis That Reveals True Relationships
When systems fail—and they always do—you discover what your business is really built on.
System-dependent businesses crumble when technology fails. Transactions halt. Customer frustration explodes. Loyalty evaporates because the relationship was never with humans—it was with convenience.
Relationship-first businesses bend but don't break. Why? Because when the technology fails, the human connection remains intact.
I watched M&S customers—the regulars who knew staff by name—respond to payment failures with patience, understanding, even humour. They weren't just customers; they were in relationship with specific people who happened to work for M&S.
This is the power of what I call the Lifetime Client relationship in action.
The Three Types of Crisis Responses
During the M&S crisis, I observed three distinct customer responses that mirror the RSL Framework perfectly:
Reason Clients: "Fix This Now"
These customers had no relationship beyond the transaction. When systems failed, they immediately became hostile, demanding instant solutions, threatening to "never shop here again." They saw staff as extensions of broken machinery, not as humans navigating an impossible situation.
For solo creators: These are the clients who disappear the moment you have a scheduling conflict, technical issue, or need to raise prices. They're transaction-focused, not relationship-focused.
Season Clients: "This Is Frustrating, But..."
These customers were building trust but hadn't yet developed deep loyalty. They showed patience but expressed clear frustration. They recognised staff weren't to blame but still expected quick resolution. They stayed, but their loyalty was being tested.
For solo creators: These are clients who'll stick with you through minor issues but need consistent proof that the relationship is worth maintaining. They require nurturing during difficult periods.
Lifetime Clients: "How Are You Holding Up?"
The most remarkable response came from customers who asked about staff wellbeing. They offered encouragement, made jokes to lighten the mood, and showed genuine concern for the humans serving them. They weren't just tolerating the crisis—they were actively supporting the people they'd built relationships with.
For solo creators: These are clients who send check-in messages during your difficult periods, refer others despite temporary setbacks, and view your success as connected to their own.
The Relationship Debt Lesson
The M&S crisis also revealed something crucial about relationship debt—the energy drain that comes from poor-fit client relationships.
Staff members were absorbing hundreds of negative interactions daily from Reason Clients who saw them as customer service robots rather than humans. This created massive relationship debt:
Emotional exhaustion from constant blame
Energy depletion from repetitive explanations
Morale destruction from feeling devalued
Burnout from being treated as less than human
For solo creators, this translates directly:
When your client base skews heavily towards Reason Clients, you'll experience the same relationship debt. Every project becomes an energy drain. Every communication feels defensive. Every technical hiccup becomes a crisis of confidence.
But when you build a foundation of Season and Lifetime Clients, challenges become shared problems to solve together, not personal attacks on your competence.
Crisis Communication That Builds Relationships
The most skilled M&S staff didn't just manage the crisis—they used it to deepen relationships. Here's what they did that solo creators should emulate:
They Acknowledged Reality Without Deflecting
Instead of corporate speak, they said: "I know this is frustrating and completely not what you expected when you came in today."
Solo creator application: When projects run late or issues arise, acknowledge the impact honestly instead of hiding behind excuses or technical explanations.
They Made It Personal, Not Systematic
Rather than "The system is down," they said "I'm going to try something different for you" or "Let me see what I can do to make this work."
Solo creator application: Frame problems as challenges you're personally committed to solving, not systematic failures beyond your control.
They Protected the Relationship, Not Just the Transaction
The best staff focused on maintaining human connection even when they couldn't complete the sale. They remembered regular customers' preferences, asked about family, maintained the personal elements that transcended the transaction.
Solo creator application: During difficult client situations, prioritise the relationship over the immediate project. How you handle problems determines whether someone becomes a Lifetime Client or disappears forever.
The Sustainable Business Lesson
Here's what struck me most: The M&S staff who handled the crisis best weren't the ones working hardest to fix every technical problem. They were the ones who maintained their humanity whilst systems failed around them.
This challenges the scale-obsessed business advice that tells solo creators to systematise everything, automate all interactions, and remove human elements for "efficiency."
When your systems fail (and they will), when your technology breaks (and it does), when unexpected challenges arise (and they always do), what remains is the relationship you've built with your clients.
The crisis proved that relationships are the ultimate business continuity plan.
Building Crisis-Proof Client Relationships
Based on what I observed, here's how solo creators can build the kind of client relationships that survive and strengthen during challenges:
Focus on Lifetime Client Development
Instead of optimising for quick conversions, invest energy in clients who see value in long-term relationships. These clients become advocates during difficult periods rather than critics.
Practise Proactive Relationship Maintenance
Don't wait for crises to deepen client connections. Regular check-ins, personal touches, and genuine interest in their success creates relationship capital you can draw on when needed.
Reframe Problems as Partnership Opportunities
When issues arise, position yourself and the client as partners solving a challenge together, not as service provider disappointing a customer.
Honour the Human Element
Remember that behind every client email is a person with their own pressures, fears, and expectations. Respond to the human, not just the request.
The Anti-Scale Insight
The M&S crisis perfectly illustrates why scale-first business advice fails solo creators. The staff members who maintained the best client relationships during the crisis weren't following systematic scripts or optimised processes. They were being genuinely human in the face of systematic failure.
Scale-obsessed advice tells you to:
Automate client communications
Systematise every interaction
Remove personal elements for efficiency
Optimise for volume over connection
The crisis taught me that sustainable solo creator businesses:
Prioritise human connection over systematic efficiency
Build relationships that transcend individual transactions
Create emotional bonds that survive technical failures
Invest in Lifetime Clients who become partners during challenges
Your Relationship Resilience Test
Ask yourself: If your primary systems failed tomorrow—website crashed, email stopped working, payment processing went down—would your clients:
A) Immediately look for alternatives (Reason Client relationships)
B) Express frustration but wait for resolution (Season Client relationships)
C) Offer support and check on your wellbeing (Lifetime Client relationships)
If your answer is primarily A or B, you're building a fragile business dependent on systems rather than relationships.
The Path Forward
The M&S crisis reminded me that people don't buy from companies—they buy from other people. Even in a corporate retail environment, the strongest customer loyalty was to specific individuals, not to the brand itself.
As solo creators, this is our natural advantage. We can build the kind of direct, personal relationships that large corporations struggle to create at scale.
But only if we choose relationship-building over transaction optimisation.
The staff members who thrived during the M&S crisis didn't have better systems—they had better relationships. They'd invested time in knowing their customers as humans, not just revenue sources.
That's the lesson for all of us: In a world of failing systems and broken technology, human relationships remain the most reliable foundation for sustainable business success.
When your next crisis comes, and it will, will you have the relationship capital to weather it? Or will you discover that your business was just a collection of transactions waiting to fall apart?
With courage and conviction,
Have you experienced client relationships that survived business challenges?
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