Hiring a fractional COO seems like a smart move when you’re growing. You want help with operations. You want less stress. And you want your business to scale without breaking things.
But here’s what most entrepreneurs miss: customer service suffers when you hire the wrong COO.
They don’t always cause chaos on day one. It’s usually subtle. You’ll see more complaints, slower replies, missed details. And by the time you realize it, your customer experience is already broken.
This is common in small businesses trying to scale quickly. You bring someone in to build better systems, but those systems end up creating distance between your team and your customers. That’s not just an ops problem. It’s a trust problem.
If your customers don’t feel seen, they won’t stay. And no amount of operational cleanup will fix churn if your COO doesn’t factor in the customer journey from day one.
Here’s how that happens—and how to avoid it.
What Does a Fractional COO Actually Do for Customer Service?
A fractional COO runs your operations without being full-time. They help with systems, processes, and scaling. That includes managing internal workflows, improving delivery pipelines, and making decisions that affect how work gets done.
But the best ones do more than backend work. They influence how your customers feel when they work with you.
If the COO rebuilds your workflow, it changes how fast you respond. If they tweak the delivery system, it changes how consistent your product is. And if they train your team poorly, your customers feel it.
Operations and customer service aren’t separate. They’re two sides of the same thing.
Think about how often support teams rely on the systems built by operations. When tickets fall through the cracks, it’s often because those systems weren’t built with the customer in mind. A good COO understands that what happens behind the curtain affects what customers see and feel.
So when you’re hiring, you’re not just hiring a process builder. You’re hiring someone who shapes how your customers experience your brand—whether you meant to or not.
The Biggest Mistakes Entrepreneurs Make When Hiring a COO
Mistake 1: Hiring based on a resume instead of results.
Some COOs look perfect on paper. Big titles. Big companies. But that doesn’t mean they’re right for your business. What worked in a 300-person org may not work in your 10-person team. Especially not if you’re still wearing five hats and handling client calls yourself.
Mistake 2: Ignoring the impact on the customer.
Most entrepreneurs talk about “systems” during the interview. But they forget to ask: “How will your systems help our customers?” That question alone can filter out the wrong candidates. If they hesitate or talk only about internal efficiency, you’ve got your answer.
Mistake 3: Thinking the COO is only internal.
They’re not. Their decisions touch sales, support, and fulfillment. If they don’t think about the customer journey, they’ll build systems that frustrate people instead of helping them.
Mistake 4: No onboarding expectations.
You hire a COO and expect them to fix things. But they need clear goals. Without those, they’ll build what they think you need—not what your customers actually want.
These mistakes don’t just cost you time. They can quietly break your brand. The fix isn’t more hiring. It’s smarter hiring. Start with clarity. Make sure your COO knows that success means more than fewer meetings—it means happier customers.
Scaling Your Business Starts With Fixing Your Service Gaps
You can’t scale a mess. It gets bigger, but worse.
Hiring a fractional COO can fix that—if they focus on customer service too.
For example:
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A slow onboarding process? They can automate it.
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Inconsistent service? They can build training and SOPs.
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Too many customer complaints? They can redesign your support systems.
But if you don’t tie scaling goals to customer experience, your COO will miss the mark.
Growth should make things smoother, not louder.
Let’s say your company is growing fast, but customers keep emailing the wrong person, getting delayed replies, or receiving half-baked answers. A strong COO can see that pattern and ask, “Why is this happening?” Then they fix the root system issue. Not just the symptom.
This is where many COOs fall short. They focus on speed. They don’t measure satisfaction. But if you build a machine that runs fast and forget who it’s running for, you’ll lose the trust that got you to this stage in the first place.
Why Operational Leadership Fails Without a CX Mindset
The COO isn’t just a taskmaster. They’re a translator between your vision and the customer’s experience.
If they’re only thinking about productivity, they’ll cut corners that matter. Customers notice when wait times grow. They notice when your team rushes or makes mistakes. And they remember.
That’s why CX should be part of every ops decision. Not a separate initiative. Not an afterthought.
The COO has to be trained to ask, “How will this feel to the customer?” If they never ask that, don’t hire them.
Operations that aren’t aligned with CX goals become internal busywork. And the disconnect shows up fast. Missed follow-ups. Broken handoffs. Gaps between departments. It all becomes friction for your customer—and stress for your team.
If you’ve ever had to apologize to a customer for something that “wasn’t your fault,” odds are high that your ops weren’t built with the customer in mind.
That’s not just a system failure. That’s a leadership gap.
5 Signs You Hired the Wrong COO (And What to Do About It)
You won’t always know on day one. But here are the signs.
1. Your team feels more confused, not less
A good COO brings clarity. A bad one adds noise. If you keep hearing “I’m not sure who owns that now,” you’ve got a problem.
2. Customers are waiting longer
Fewer updates. More tickets. Slower delivery. If the customer experience is getting worse instead of better, that’s on operations.
3. You can’t track the changes they made
If you don’t see new systems or documentation, they’re guessing. They should be building structure, not working off memory.
4. Team morale drops
If your team avoids them or seems stressed, pay attention. People don’t hide from leaders they trust.
5. You’re still doing the things they were hired to fix
If you’re still stuck in operations, something’s off. You’re not supposed to be the fallback for the systems they own.
What to do:
You don’t need to fire them right away. But reset expectations. Focus on CX KPIs. Make customer feedback part of their scorecard. If they push back on that, they’re not aligned with your business goals—and they’re probably not your person long-term.
From Operations to Outcomes: Aligning Your COO with Accountability
At Accountability Now, we see this all the time. Entrepreneurs want help scaling. But they hire based on pressure, not on purpose.
That’s why we recommend three things:
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Set clear CX goals during hiring. Include NPS or service-related outcomes.
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Tie operational success to customer outcomes. Don’t track tasks—track experiences.
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Use weekly review systems. If your COO can’t explain what changed and why, something’s wrong.
Too often, small businesses focus only on deliverables. But outcomes matter more. A COO who builds a project tracker but ignores team communication is just adding tools, not solving problems.
You don’t need a superstar. You need someone who listens, builds, and cares about your customer as much as you do.
That kind of alignment doesn’t happen by accident. It happens when you lead with intention. And if you want help setting that standard, we’re here.
Final Thought
A fractional COO can help you scale. But the wrong hire will cost you trust.
Don’t just ask, “Can this person build systems?”
Ask, “Will those systems make our customer experience better?”
That’s what separates good hires from great ones.
If you’re unsure whether your operations are helping or hurting your customer relationships, you don’t have to figure it out alone. At Accountability Now, we help business owners set the right expectations, hire smarter, and build systems that work—for your team and your customers.
Not a pitch. Just an open door if you need it.
