Customer service killed Michael Jackson.  
	 I'm reminded of a pbs special on Elvis Presley.  
One of his crew was talking about how they couldn't find him 
before one performance.  They looked everywhere and finally 
found him in the bathroom, on his knees, praying that he 
could give his audience a good performance.  Elvis died from 
medication.
	 Then there was Hank Williams.  He too, was taking 
pain medication.  I can't help but think the pressure to 
perform, to be as good as they can be, was assisted with the 
medication.  It probably becomes a 'crutch'.  Then sooner or 
later, out of control, Hank died in the back seat, on the 
way to their next performance from an overdose, 
accidentally.
	 Now we lost Michael Jackson at to young an age.  
He was just getting ready for a World tour performance, with 
the added pressure of a come back.  Few of us ever 
experience that much pressure so it's hard to put it into 
context, but his doctor was convicted for writing the 
prescription.
	 These great performers were struggling to put on a 
good performance, an excellent performance their fans 
expected.  They were striving to meet audience expectations.  
They wanted to be the best they could be one more time, with 
the help of drugs.  Whose not to say that Hendrix and 
Jopplin also found their drug use helped them perform.  The 
pressure from their public is partly, if not totally, to 
blame.  They were trying to meet customer expectations, with 
the perfect performance their fans wanted.  The ultimate in 
customer service.
	 Most of us have worked in the service industry and 
taken the grunt of the public's expectations.  The absurdity 
of unreasonalbe demands, people expect, because it is their 
right, when they spend their money, to be treated like 
royalty.  Employers capitalize on this relationship.  The 
only cost is the dignity and self respect of the employees. 
It's about money and we all know there are more important 
things than money.
    If you've ever performed you know the audience will jeer 
at imperfections and if they've been charged money, the 
entertainer better 'put out' an entertaining performance.  
It might be likened to customer service at its most intense.
    So you see, the fans killed Elvis.  They didn't mean to, 
intentionally, but we're caught up in this unreasonable 
system that ultimately destroys the best and well 
intentioned.