Customer Experience Index is often discussed in reviews and dashboards – Scores are tracked. Movements are analysed. Targets are set.
But after years of leading retail teams across formats, one thing became very clear to me: Customer experience doesn’t improve because a number is chased. It improves because leadership behaviour on the floor changes.
What the Score Never Tells You
In fashion retail especially, customer experience is shaped in moments that never make it to reports:
- How calmly a supervisor handles a fitting-room argument
- Whether an associate feels safe saying “this won’t be possible”
- How a manager steps in when a conversation starts getting uncomfortable
I’ve seen stores where CEI stayed strong even during high pressure – sales rushes, festive crowds, peak weekends. And I’ve seen stores where experience collapsed the moment stress entered the system.
The difference was never product or training. It was how supported people felt in difficult moments.
A Leadership Realisation That Stayed With Me
There was a phase when I believed CEI could be improved with sharper processes, better scripts, and more reminders. But watching teams closely changed that belief.
I noticed something simple and uncomfortable:
When associates felt exposed, they became defensive.
When they felt supported, they became calm.
Customers respond to calm far more than they respond to technique.
CEI dropped not because associates lacked intent, but because they were unsure whether leadership would stand by them when things got tense.
Where Leaders Often Unintentionally Hurt Experience
Most leaders want great customer experience. But without realising it, they sometimes weaken it by:
- Correcting associates in front of customers
- Rushing to appease rather than understand
- Stepping in late, only after escalation
- Measuring experience without observing behaviour
None of this comes from poor intent. It comes from pressure. But pressure felt by leaders is transferred directly to the floor. And customers sense that immediately.
What Changed When Leadership Took Responsibility
In environments where customer experience truly stabilised, one shift stood out clearly to me.
Leaders stopped asking: “Why did the score fall?”
And started asking: “Where did we make it hard for our people to do the right thing?”
That changed everything.
Supervisors were coached on tone, not just outcomes.
Associates were supported publicly and corrected privately.
Difficult customers were handled with fairness, not fear.
CEI didn’t improve overnight. But trust did. And trust quietly improves experience.
The Ascend Thought at the Core
Customer experience is not delivered by the frontline alone. It is enabled by leadership.
Associates don’t learn experience from posters or scripts. They learn it by watching:
- How leaders speak under pressure
- Whether rules are applied consistently
- Who gets protected when conversations turn difficult
That behaviour becomes culture. Culture becomes experience.
A Reflection for Retail Leaders
Before the next CEI review, it’s worth pausing to ask: When things get uncomfortable on the floor, do my people feel supported or judged?
Because customers don’t remember every word spoken. They remember how the interaction felt. And how it feels is shaped, every single day, by leadership.
