Customization of the service experience: The role of the frontline employee

Emphasizes that customizing the delivery of service on the frontline is a key to customer satisfaction. Offers insight into frontline customization by offering specific research propositions to guide future empirical inquiry. Explores the issues of how frontline employees classify customers, enact specific behavioural strategies, and perceive personalization efforts. Presents the findings from an exploratory qualitative study to provide illustrative support for the literature-based propositions. Offers managerial implications for firms to take advantage of the employee customization opportunity.