Exploring tools for learning about customers in a service setting

Purpose – The purpose of the paper is to explore how frontline contact persons appropriate and use learning tools from the socio‐cultural context for learning about customers in their everyday work.Design/methodology/approach – The study utilises an ethnographic‐research approach involving participant observations, informal conversations, and interviews among car salespersons and service advisors at a car‐retailing company.Findings – The study comes to two main conclusions. First, learning tools are appropriated and utilised for learning about customers in a two‐layered process: interactions between frontline contact persons and the socio‐cultural context; and interactions between frontline contact persons and customers. Secondly, learning about customers can be of two types: subject‐ or object‐driven learning.Practical implications – Tools that enhance the process of learning about customers can be developed within the socio‐cultural environment of an organisation whereas tools that inhibit the learning ...