Report: Let ‘Front-Line’ Workers, Public Judge Quality

Top-level management should rely on “front-line” employees and the public to gauge service quality and corporate image, the key factors in attracting and retaining business, according to a report on consumer attitudes released Monday.

The survey of more than 3,200 employees at 14 large companies in the United States and Canada found a trend toward emphasizing consumer satisfaction above bottom-line profit strategy.

“There’s a certain arrogance in companies on a downward spiral,” said Richard C. Whiteley, president of the Forum Corp., a Boston-based corporate research and training firm, which conducted the survey. “They think they know what their customers need more than their customers do.”

The survey indicated that empathy and responsiveness among so-called front-line workers who deal directly with the public leads to customer loyalty and new business.

But the report noted that managers constantly must seek comments and advice from front-line employees and customers, who have the best sense of how the company is perceived in the marketplace.

The report also notes that the attitudes of front-line workers is heavily influenced by upper management.

“Consumer focus . . . has come to be regarded as a complex notion that involves the entire organization, and not just something that is the responsibility of people who are sometimes the lowest-paid, least-trained and least-motivated employees in the company,” the report said.

Whiteley cited toll-free information numbers, consumer questionnaires and maintaining executives’ connection with the public as methods successfully used by companies seeking to enhance image and customer satisfaction.

Whiteley predicted that more U.S. companies will foster better consumer policies as foreign and domestic competition grows.

“Right now, there are a lot of people playing around in each others’ back yard,” he said. “With more options, the consumer is in a better position to be selective. You now hear, ‘Thank you for calling AT&T;’ when you call. That wasn’t the case years ago.”

Whiteley also believes consumers have become more astute and aggressive. He estimated that consumer complaints have doubled since 1980.

“Companies are learning that they need the consumer and that service has got to improve or they can lose their business overnight if they’re not careful,” Whiteley said.

Forty percent of the 2,374 consumers interviewed late last year in the two-month survey said poor service prompted them to pull away their business. An additional 30% cited “other reasons” for switching, including some service-related problems, according to the report.

But between 60% and 73% of consumer respondents rated service quality with the companies “excellent,” according to the report.