Bad services waste time, cost money, and can even ruin lives. This essential guide, Bad Services by Lou Downe, tackles the uncomfortable truth: poor service delivery is often rooted in organizational issues, not just design flaws. Discover why organizations struggle to deliver effective services despite technological advances and learn straightforward methods to solve these universal challenges.

Building upon the success of Good Services, this book provides a vital diagnostic tool—the 5 Causes of Bad Services—to help leaders and practitioners identify and resolve systemic failures stemming from silos, lack of ownership, and poor decision-making.

• Identifies the root causes of service failures, moving beyond mere design flaws.
• Introduces the 5 Causes of Bad Services, a diagnostic tool for immediate application.
• Offers clear, straightforward steps to solve service delivery barriers, regardless of organizational buy-in.
• Expands upon the internationally recognized 15 principles of Good Service Design from the author's previous work.
• Focuses on creating conditions for good services to thrive in the future, not just one-time design fixes.

This book is essential for anyone involved in improving services, including:

• Service designers & UX professionals
• Product, operations & transformation leaders
• Government & public sector teams
• Innovators driving organizational change

• Author: Lou Downe
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition: 1st Edition
• Language: English
• Print Length: 272 pages
• Publication Date: June 25, 2026
• ISBN-10: 906369721X
• ISBN-13: 978-9063697211
• Dimensions: 19.5 x 4.5 x 13 cm
• Weight: 400 g

Gain the insights needed to transform organizational conditions and ensure your services consistently work for the people who rely on them.