Staffing the front office

“Putting the customer first” and “the customer is king” are becoming common phrases in British Telecom (BT). They reflect an attitude to service, based on anticipating and meeting customers' needs, not on supplying whatever is available. For example, the days of estimating what lengths of waiting list would be tolerated by customers are long gone. Customers want service quickly and demand an organization which can be accessed easily when something goes wrong.