{
  "title": "Customer reception: helping without hovering",
  "url": "https://www.shr.swiss/blog/accueil-client-aider-sans-mettre-sous-observation-en",
  "language": "en",
  "datePublished": "2026-06-04",
  "publisher": {
    "name": "SHR — Swiss Human Resources",
    "url": "https://www.shr.swiss",
    "address": "Esplanade de Pont-Rouge 9A, 1212 Lancy, Suisse"
  },
  "summary": "Staying beside a customer as they complete a form seems considerate. Research on the presence of others suggests that availability and continuous observation should be distinguished.",
  "section": "Research",
  "topic": "Client Reception",
  "place": {
    "name": "Zurich",
    "region": "Zurich",
    "country": "CH"
  },
  "keyPoints": [
    {
      "heading": "What the literature establishes",
      "point": "Robert Zajonc (1965, Science) offers a theoretical synthesis: the presence of others facilitates dominant responses, meaning those that arise most readily."
    },
    {
      "heading": "A presence whose effects depend on the task",
      "point": "Charles Bond and Linda Titus (1983, Psychological Bulletin) examine this question in a meta-analysis, distinguishing, among other things, speed from accuracy."
    },
    {
      "heading": "The premature conclusion",
      "point": "One might conclude that customers should be left alone whenever a procedure becomes difficult."
    },
    {
      "heading": "What these findings cannot decide",
      "point": "This research does not specifically address reception in banks, insurance companies or international headquarters."
    },
    {
      "heading": "A practical check in Zurich",
      "point": "Within SHR's “Accueil client” programme, a practical exercise in Zurich could focus on a non-sensitive procedure, such as a visitor form in financial services, insurance, tech or the European headquarters of an international group."
    }
  ],
  "sources": [
    {
      "authors": "Zajonc",
      "year": "1965",
      "source": "Science"
    },
    {
      "authors": "Titus",
      "year": "1983",
      "source": "Psychological Bulletin"
    }
  ],
  "wordCount": 387,
  "image": "https://www.shr.swiss/img/blog-editorial-2026-06-04-en.jpg?v=4",
  "translations": {
    "fr": "https://www.shr.swiss/blog/accueil-client-aider-sans-mettre-sous-observation",
    "en": "https://www.shr.swiss/blog/accueil-client-aider-sans-mettre-sous-observation-en",
    "de": "https://www.shr.swiss/blog/accueil-client-aider-sans-mettre-sous-observation-de",
    "it": "https://www.shr.swiss/blog/accueil-client-aider-sans-mettre-sous-observation-it"
  },
  "relatedPages": {
    "programme": "https://www.shr.swiss/formation/accueil-client/zurich",
    "city": "https://www.shr.swiss/formations-ville/zurich",
    "blog": "https://www.shr.swiss/blog"
  },
  "citationPolicy": "Citation autorisée avec mention « SHR — Swiss Human Resources » et lien vers l'article."
}