Why Customer Service Feels Colder — and What Franchise Training Must Do About It

Frontline performance is no longer a “nice to have” in franchising — it is the brand. As face-to-face interaction becomes less common and customer expectations continue to rise, franchise systems can no longer rely on instinct, personality, or on-the-job exposure to deliver great service. Today’s winning brands intentionally train, reinforce, and scale human connection at the unit level.

The Franchise Frontline Excellence Playbook is built to help franchisors, franchisees, and operators create consistent, high-quality customer experiences through smarter hiring, stronger training systems, and leadership that shows up where it matters most — on the frontline.

A recent online debate has given a name to something customers across industries have been feeling for a while: the “Gen Z Stare.” The phrase took off after an X (formerly Twitter) post went viral, racking up more than 1.7 million views. The post wasn’t an attack on young workers—it was an expression of surprise at how rare basic, proactive customer engagement has become.

The user wrote that simply being greeted with, “Good morning, I’ll be with you in a minute,” felt so refreshing that it immediately stood out as an example of how a business should be run.

That reaction says far more about today’s service environment than it does about any one generation.

The Real Issue Isn’t Age — It’s Experience and Training

Customer service today often feels colder, quieter, and more transactional. Not because people don’t care—but because many frontline employees have less real-world experience with face-to-face interaction than any generation before them.

As a society, we are increasingly relationship disadvantaged. A 2024 study found that 40% of adults had gone three or more days without a single face-to-face conversation. Fewer daily interactions mean fewer opportunities to practice empathy, reading social cues, and engaging naturally with strangers.

For franchise systems, this matters deeply. Franchises are built on repeatable experiences, and customer service is one of the most critical experiences you can standardize—or neglect.

The Decline of In-Person Interaction

Long-term data paints a clear picture:

• The percentage of Americans with 10 or more close friends dropped from 33% in 1990 to just 13% by 2021.

• Weekly time spent with friends has fallen by more than 50% over the past two decades.

• Teenagers’ daily in-person social time dropped from about 60 minutes per day in the early 2000s to roughly 20 minutes by 2020.

• The average American now spends more than five and a half hours alone each day—more than at any point in recent history.

Face-to-face interaction is not just social—it’s a learned skill. When people have fewer real-world interactions growing up, they enter the workforce without the instinctive habits older generations often take for granted: eye contact, greetings, tone, warmth, and initiative.

This is not a failure of workers. It’s a gap in preparation.

Why Franchises Feel This More Than Anyone

Franchise brands depend on consistency across locations, markets, and operators. When customer service quality varies, the brand pays the price—not just the individual unit.

Compounding the issue:

• Remote work has reduced daily in-person interaction for millions.

• Digital communication has replaced casual conversations.

• Many frontline workers enter roles with minimal prior customer-facing experience.

In the past, employees often absorbed service behaviors organically—from coworkers, managers, and customers themselves. Today, that assumption no longer holds.

Which means franchisors and franchisees must be far more intentional.

Service Isn’t Technical — It’s Emotional

Customer service excellence does not come from operational skill alone. It comes from service aptitude.

Service aptitude is the ability to:

• Recognize moments that matter to customers

• Respond with empathy and confidence

• Make people feel acknowledged, respected, and welcome

It’s not about scripts. It’s about mindset and awareness.

The reality is stark: nearly 60% of U.S. business leaders say it’s difficult to find candidates with strong soft skills. That makes service aptitude a training responsibility, not a hiring shortcut.

What Franchise Training Must Do Differently

For modern franchise systems, customer service can no longer be assumed or “picked up over time.” It must be:

• Screened for during hiring

• Explicitly taught during onboarding

• Practiced repeatedly through role-play and coaching

• Reinforced continuously at the unit level

Soft skills should be treated with the same seriousness as food safety, operations manuals, or brand standards. Because from the customer’s perspective, how they’re treated is the brand.

The Opportunity Hidden in the Problem

The silver lining is powerful: brands that invest in service training now stand out instantly. In a world where silence and indifference have become common, simple human warmth feels exceptional.

A smile.
A greeting.
Acknowledgment.

These moments are no longer baseline expectations—they’re competitive advantages.

For franchises willing to lead, train, and reinforce human connection, the path forward is clear:
Customer service isn’t disappearing. It’s being redesigned—and the brands that train for it will win.