Sales clerks who stand behind the counter gabbing to friends and ignoring the customer in front of them; product return personnel who refuse to honor their store's return policy; bank employees who get surly and defensive when questioned about possible errors on a depositor's bank statement.

These slights and others can cost a business thousands in lost revenues and even the loss of their reputation in the community. Customers who have been treated rudely or who see themselves as having been cheated or ripped off in some way are likely to vote with their feet, walking out of a business and in the door of a similar business down the street that presents itself as more welcoming. Even more serious, customers who see themselves as slighted generally tell other people, which can impact a business's reputation very quickly. Once tarnished, a company's public reputation is very hard to repair.

Proper hiring and training of customer service personnel is paramount. Employees who enjoy interacting with customers and who genuinely want to help resolve problems are a valuable asset to a business. Beyond that, company customer return policies and problem resolution procedures must make it easy for employees to make things right for the customer; the most enthusiastic, dedicated employees in the world aren't going to be wholly effective if company policies work against them in their dealing with the customer. The success of any business depends on its relationship with its customers; and the relationship with its customers depends on the employees who interact with them on a daily basis. Hire the right people and give them every tool available to serve customer needs efficiently, respectfully, and well, and the result will have a powerfully positive impact on the bottom line.