Hark the customer's digital voice

EVERY day, gazillions of interactions take place between customers and frontline staff. How many times have you said "the service is so bad I will not bank with them, or eat there again" or, when delighted, spread great word-of-mouth compliments such as "service was stupendous"?

For most customers, the receptionist, the salesgirl or the waiter is the first - and often the only - face of the organisation they see. Their impact on how your customers evaluate the service experience or, perhaps more importantly, your company's image is immense. Your frontline employees may actually be the linchpin that determines whether your customer will return.

While service-based operations can set up standard operating protocols, for example having frontline staff adhere strictly to a script to standardise service delivery, there is another aspect of the service delivery that is more difficult to teach or control. This is the non-verbal behaviour of employees, via their tone of voice, level of enthusiasm, body language or appropriate dressing. Yet, the non-verbal cues that the employee exudes can potentially play an important role in how customers evaluate the service experience and, subsequently, your company.