Advice for Companies: How to Identify Racial Bias in Customer Service

According to studies conducted by Harvard Business Review, minority customers – specifically black and Asian people – generally receive worse customer service than their white counterparts in ways that are indicative of racial bias.

In one study, email enquiries were sent to 6000 hotels across America, from fictitious email accounts with names that signaled race and gender. Researchers then reviewed responses to these emails, examining aspects such as language and tone, and found that hotel employees were less responsive, less helpful and less friendly to those belonging to minority groups, when compared to how they related to white people.

Unlike racism, which can be more explicit and systematic, racial bias is implicit. In other words, racial bias often plays out in ways that are unconscious and unintentional, and are based on attitudes and stereotypes about certain racial groups. People who are racially bias are often not aware of their discriminatory attitudes and can act on those biases without meaning to or knowing that they are doing so. Harbouring stereotypes about certain racial groups that are unfavourable, can lead to those groups being treated unfairly or in a way that suggests that they are inferior. As the Harvard Business Review demonstrated, these biases are particularly evident in the realm of customer service. That reality says a lot about the society we live in today. Outwardly, society is democratic and just, but the everyday behaviour of people is underpinned by a current of intolerance and a tendency towards making assumptions, often leveled at members of minority groups.

The challenge for BAME business owners is how to tackle the issue of bias in their businesses, because ultimately, it is a phenomenon that can lead to poor customer service, which will negatively impact customer retention and ultimately affect the bottomline.

Identifying racial bias in customer service is not a clear-cut process, simply because most people are unaware that it affects their behaviour, but as a business owner there are subtle signs you can look out for with regards to how your employees treat your customers. You may observe employee-customer interactions and ask yourself the following questions:

• Does the tone of your employee’s voice change when they address different race groups? For example, do they seem agitated or impatient?
• Does the language used by your employees change when they address different race groups? Do they “talk down” to minority groups or change their language in a way that suggests that they believe minority groups cannot understand what they are saying?
• What does their body language say about their attitude towards different race groups? For example, do they stand at a distance or lean into the conversation? Do they maintain eye contact with the customer or are they distracted and indifferent?
• Do your employees seem more willing to help certain race groups as opposed to others? Are they more attentive to white customers, for example? Do they automatically assume that white customers are willing and able to spend more and are therefore better customers? Do your employees overlook certain customers because of the way they are dressed or their accent?
• If your business conducts its affairs online, does your level of customer service change as soon as customers reveal their identities in a way that signals which racial group they belong to? Are your employees more likely to dismiss certain racial groups when they have a complaint or need assistance?

Brick-and-mortar businesses could also employ a mystery shopper system, where individuals posed as shoppers enter a store and write about their customer experience based on a questionnaire that could feature some of the aspects that the above questions identify. This would however, require an investment in terms of time and resources. Time would need to be taken to collate the results and watch out for instances where business owners themselves may have stereotypes and assumptions that get in the way of looking at the evidence objectively.

There are a number of tests, verified by academic bodies, that monitor and measure racial bias, but as experience continues to show, it is unlikely that one test can be conclusive. A multi-pronged approach that requires active listening, observation, discussion and debate and testing in some form is often more effective.

The interest of companies in facilitating implicit bias workshops, seminars and training sessions is increasing, with business owners becoming succinctly aware that racial bias is actively affecting client relations and in the long term, profitability. This kind of training can go a long way in helping employees to self-examine, and identify mentalities and underlying beliefs that may be getting in the way of them treating all customers the same.

Ultimately, it is each individual’s responsibility to take the necessary steps to challenge stereotypes, question generalisations and behave in a way that treats all customers with respect and a sense of equality. It is the business owner’s responsibility to put policies and measures in place that will standardise customer service in line with strong values and principles. These values need to be clearly communicated with employees and upheld through regular self appraisal and implicit bias “audits” where business owners pay close attention to how their customers are treated so that any decline can be addressed on an individual or collective level.

Have you as a BAME business owner, experienced racial bias in customer service? We’d like to collate your responses around how you identified racial bias in an upcoming feature article. Please share your thoughts and comments with us on social media.