Chip:)

First, my condolences for your having to sleep on a less-than-optimal mattress.

Second, thank you for clearly and enjoyably stating two essential truths, at least in my mind.  I paraphase below:

1)  Customer service is not for the faint-of-heart or rules-bound person.  Customer service that is not focused on creating and keeping customers indicates that company is not interested in service or the long haul.

2)  Leading and Managing can and must coexist, ideally in the same person.  Sometimes we lead, sometimes we manage, and the best do both in an apparently easy manner, because they understand what is important when.

As always, your thoughts are highly entertaining and awfully educational:)

John