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Gender and Customer Service

It's a common sight to see females as front line customer service staff. I sometimes wonder if this reflects population dynamics, recruitment preferences, gender sensitivity, employment bias or a baseless observation on my part. Some non-research findings tend towards the use of the female gender as sex -appeals to gain male customers.
Whether in formal or informal organisations, a head count needs not be done to ascertain the wide difference in male to female ratio of Customer -facing staff. Some questions that come to mind however are:


  • Is the customer service field considered a weaker field just as the female gender is considered the weaker gender by some? 
  • Is the customer service field a match for all that defines what the female gender represents?
  • Since women dominate the informal industries, could it be that the customer service field requires little or no skills?
  • Do more women than men apply for customer service jobs?
  • How does the society view men doing customer - service jobs
Every job role has a skill set and the face of customer service is neither feminine nor masculine.Customer service is also not for the strong or the weak, but for those who have developed a character of selflessness built on truth,justice, fairness, respect and value while upholding the rights of a customer. Customer service staff require training because no one is born a customer service staff. Customer -service staff are image makers and influencers of a customer's 'moment of truth'. Their conducts are a reflection of the organisations they work for and not themselves. Customer service is a field for both genders, provided those involved are trained and put their training to use for the satisfaction of the customers and the image of the organisations they represent.

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