Humanization and service quality have long ceased to be mere differentiating factors and have become basic conditions for survival in an increasingly transparent, informed, and demanding market.
And the fact that we are rapidly moving toward digitalization and artificial intelligence does not lessen that responsibility. On the contrary, as technology and algorithms improve, it is only natural that service quality will also improve continuously, especially in moments when human interaction is simulated. This places a significant responsibility on us to do better and differently when we are the ones interacting, regardless of the role we play within organizations.
Creating value does not depend only on the product or the price. It depends, above all, on the experience the customer has at every touchpoint with the organization. And this is precisely where many companies continue to fail.
Just think of a simple phone call that ends up in an automated system. The customer calls, faces a maze of options, hears “press 2, then 5, now please wait,” and after long minutes is attended by someone following a rigid script, with no real ability to solve the problem. And when it is finally our turn in a queue, or when we reach a human contact on the phone, we are greeted with a lukewarm “Go ahead…” or “Next…”
The implicit message is clear: the company’s time is more important than the customer’s. As customers, we all feel that this type of experience not only destroys trust but also silently erodes brand value.
At the opposite end, we find positive examples where empathy, active listening, and personalization are part of the culture. A customer who is addressed by name, listened to attentively, and supported through to resolution feels valued. And that feeling translates into loyalty, recommendation, and ultimately, sustainable growth.
This is not a sector-specific issue, or one tied to company size. It is a matter of corporate culture.
So why do practices so misaligned with market expectations persist? In many cases, because commercial teams are still managed with a short-sighted focus on internal metrics, such as call volume, number of sales, or script compliance, rather than real indicators of customer satisfaction and value. This short-sightedness is often reinforced by leadership disconnected from operational reality, perpetuating outdated beliefs or pushing for short-term targets while ignoring medium- and long-term impact.
Many organizations continue to look inward, focused on their processes, hierarchies, and limitations, forgetting that they depend entirely on the market. When something goes wrong, the tendency is to blame external factors, such as competition, the economic context, customer behavior, or even the need to “not disrupt the spreadsheet.” Rarely is responsibility taken for the lack of service quality delivered.
Poor customer treatment, whether in tone, response time, or an evident lack of interest, does not stem only from individual failures. It is almost always a reflection of a culture that does not place the customer at the center. And that culture begins with recruitment, continues through training, and is consolidated in leadership. If service and customer orientation are not critical criteria from the outset, they are unlikely to be built consistently later on.
It is paradoxical that, at a time when there has never been so much information about market analysis and so much evidence about the importance of customer experience, this issue still needs to be discussed. Business history is full of examples of organizations that disappeared not due to a lack of product, but due to a lack of customers, or rather, an inability to retain them.
Humanizing service is not a matter of being polite or learning to smile in a sales training session. It is a strategic decision. It means recognizing that every interaction is an opportunity to create or destroy value. And it means understanding that service quality is not improvised. It is built every day, in every detail.
As the saying goes, reality is simple and unforgiving: companies, departments, or brands that spend their time looking in the mirror inevitably stop seeing the market. And when that happens, the market stops seeing them.
Pedro Celeste, Professor at Católica-Lisbon SBE