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Is Working Behind the Magic Curtain a Good Practice?

In the marketing, communications and creative world, we don't want our clients to see how much effort we pour into a project.  We don't want to admit that we spent a week laboring over the estimate we prepared for them.  We're in a business of making things easy for our clients.  We want them to think it's easy because we feel like that's good customer service, and that we know what we're doing and we love it.

Is this true in any other industry?

Will a doctor leave surgery and not tell the patient that there were some troubles along the way, but they ended up saving a life anyway?  Will a firefighter leave a burning building with rescued beloved pet in hand, and not confess that it was quite an ordeal to save that life?  Will the Coast Guard member dangling from a helicopter to pull you out of a flooded home to belittle such a brave rescue that saved a life?  Perhaps they don't need to because it's quite understood that these are amazing feats.  We already celebrate them.

Wait, perhaps there's another thing.  We're not saving lives.  Not directly, anyway.

We're putting words and images together.  OK, we're doing a bit more than that.  We're convincing people to buy something or behave a certain way.  We're telling the world about a business because they're paying us to help promote them...  I mean, there could be some life saving in there some where, but for the most part we are working in an office with a computer or working with people face to face, right?  We don't have to put on special gear because the conditions are so hazardous, you know?

So, I'm left wondering if the practice of hiding things behind a magic curtain is actually serving us well.

I hear clients say, "What takes this designer so long?  I could've done this in Word in an hour."  There are a lot of variables left unexplained here, but it got me thinking about what happens behind the curtain.  Are there things we should be sharing with them or better explain to them so they understand?

Is hiding the blood, sweat and tears that go into each project a good thing?  Is hiding behind the magic curtain serving the industry well, or causing confusion among our clients?  If they don't see how much effort goes into a certain task, will they value it the way we hope they will?

Today I leave you with more questions than answers.  I don't know the answers, but I question our practices to explore the possibility that there is room for improvement.