How your Front Line Affects your Bottom Line

In most business publications and media assessments, the focus on companies is put on the CEO, the President, and the executive team of the company.  But how important is it to your clients and customers what the CEO or executive team is thinking?

What's much more important to your client or customer is the attitude, outlook and service of the front line person that they deal with the first time or every time they do business with you.  I was recently in a grocery store and I heard one checkout person say to another, "Oh my God, if this day doesn't end soon, I'm going to kill myself."  Now, perhaps that had nothing to do with her job, but my guess is, if her job were some place that supported her in some way, other than just financially, she probably wouldn't feel that way.

I was also recently in a hotel and there was a gentleman restocking the towels on the housekeeping cart.  I smiled at him on my way downstairs and said, "How are you today?"  He said, "Ask me again at 4:30 and I'll let you know."  I'm assuming that he gets off work at 4:30.

One more example,  I called the customer service phone number of an online retailer and asked how to return an item without paying shipping and handling to send it back, as I had received the wrong item in the first place (this situation will have to appear in a different article!)  The person who represented that company did not apologize for the mix-up, did not have a solution for me, and was annoyed when I asked her if I could speak with someone else who could resolve this situation.  Whether or not the next person could or could not resolve my challenge, the damage had already been done and a negative association to that company now exists.

So here is my question, are the people who are coming in contact with your customers or clients happy?  Are they empowered to handle the challenges that will come up?  Do they know what the CEO would do if the situation ended up in their lap?

Does the attitude and vision and intention of the executive team translate throughout the organization and land successfully on the front line?  Remember, it is often ONLY your front line employees that your customers or clients see.  Are you SURE they are representing the message of the executive team?  With the amount of choice your customers have at their fingertips...literally, now,  we can lose customers very quickly, and sometimes not know why.

Think about it.  Does your company have a strategic communication plan that runs throughout your organization?  And I don't mean just a sign over the door telling employees "You're the best", "Our customers are the best", "We're #1".  Talking about appreciation and having your people feel they're genuinely appreciated, empowered and important can make all of the difference in the world.. to them and your bottom line.