The Forgotten Product: When Government Fails the Service Test

I used to be an avid marathon runner. For over a decade, averaging 100 miles of training each week, I came to know every public toilet within a 15-mile radius of my home. Anyone who has “enjoyed” such a regime understands that these facilities aren’t a luxury—they’re a necessity.

In my hometown of Marple, we had ten public toilets. In the UK, we call them “public conveniences,” which is exactly what they are: a basic service for the public when nature calls. And we all need one, sooner or later. Today there are none.

This was because of austerity. Local authorities, responsible for maintaining these facilities, found plenty of excuses to close them down. Cost was the primary driver, but they also claimed the toilets had become hubs for vandalism or inappropriate behaviour—or simply argued they weren’t needed, suggesting people could use facilities in cafés and pubs instead. That might work in theory, but in practice, many establishments restrict toilets to paying customers only.

This isn’t just a rant about toilets. It’s a symptom of a broader decline in public service—a steady erosion of the customer experience we have begun to expect from local authorities. Refuse bins are now emptied every two weeks instead of weekly. Many councils charge extra for green waste collection. Potholes multiply and deepen on our roads. From a customer service perspective, it’s hard to hold up local government as a shining example.

In fact, I wonder if this disillusionment extends to government more widely. When you combine direct and indirect taxes, the average UK household pays around 35% of its income to the state. If we were spending that £1 trillion in shops, we’d rightly expect outstanding service.

The core issue is that government has little grasp of customer experience. Yes, it wants to keep the public onside and secure votes—achieved through promises. But a strong brand isn’t built on promises alone; it’s built on consistently meeting expectations. Perhaps our tendency to swap governments stems from the perpetual hope that the next one will deliver what the last did not.

In marketing, the product is everything. With a great product, you can build pricing, promotion, and distribution around it to create a powerful brand. What I’m arguing here is that at both national and local level, it seems we’ve forgotten the product altogether. And when the product—the core service—fails, no amount of promotion can repair trust.