Emotional Triggers in Customer Service
May 16, 2025
Do you want your guests to feel more connected?
Then let’s stop assuming that great service is about smiling, delivering fast, and ticking the basics. Because in Clubs today, the most memorable service isn’t always the fastest. It’s the most emotionally attuned.
Real loyalty happens when a guest walks away thinking:
- “They got me.”
- “They saw what I needed before I had to ask.”
- “That felt effortless… even though I know it wasn’t.”
That’s not luck. That’s emotional intelligence in action.
It’s not about manipulating emotion; it’s about respecting it. Knowing how to recognise it in the moment and respond with intent.
Here’s what that looks like on the floor:
- A team member notices a guest lingering at the reception desk and initiates support without waiting to be asked.
- A staff member hears “No, it’s fine” and gently follows up with, “We’d really like to make it right.”
- A manager sees a regular come in quieter than usual and checks in personally.
These moments aren’t always dramatic, but they are defining.
Let me ask you this - as a customer yourself, what do you value most in a service interaction?
a. Feeling seen
b. Feeling heard
c. Feeling understood
d. All the above
When we train our teams to deliver on any of these, we stop treating service as transactional and start building connections. And in this industry, connection is currency.
So how do we train emotional intelligence without turning it into fluff?
- We give staff language swaps that acknowledge emotion instead of avoiding it.
- We coach them to read nonverbal cues; posture, pace, eye contact.
- We debrief the hard moments: “What did you notice? What worked?”
It’s not just about EQ workshops and TED Talk quotes. It’s about embedding this daily; into huddles, role-play, and real moments on shift. Because emotional intelligence, when used well, could become your competitive edge.
And every team member you have? They already have the potential. Now it’s about helping them to recognise it in others and bring it out in themselves.
