Q&A with The Workplace Advisors – September 2026

Customer service standards can help set expectations for employees, but employers should be careful about how those expectations are defined and enforced. The Workplace Advisors explains how employers can focus on professional behavior without requiring employees to display a particular mood.

Q: Our company focuses on friendly customer service. Can we require employees to be cheerful and nice with customers?

A: Yes, within reason. Having a professional-demeanor standard is a legitimate requirement. This can usually be assessed objectively by requiring employees to be attentive, respectful, courteous, helpful, and clear-spoken without being vulgar, manipulative, or rude.

However, requiring someone to be “cheerful” or to go “above and beyond” may be harder to enforce because those are subjective measures. Plus, requiring cheerfulness from someone who does not naturally exude that quality may make the employee seem inauthentic.

Whatever standard you decide on, it is critical to apply it consistently to all customer-facing employees. Trouble starts when the expectation is applied unevenly or when it is impossible to meet because of an employee’s disability or religious practice.

Additionally, you should never require an employee to stay in a situation where they are the subject of unacceptable behavior, such as sexist or racist comments. Make sure all employees know they can step away from such a situation without retaliation.

Write it as a behavior standard — greet customers, use a courteous tone — rather than a mood mandate. Behavior is coachable and defensible. Feelings are neither.