Final answer:
Front line personnel discretion is the judgment and autonomy service employees have during customer interactions, illustrated by a manager at Gavi's Fast Food Restaurant who improved the payment lineup system in response to feedback. Contrastingly, the manager at a human services agency dismissed employee feedback, negatively affecting the work environment.
Step-by-step explanation:
Front line personnel discretion refers to the autonomy and judgment that service employees exercise while interacting with customers. In situations like the one described at Gavi's Fast Food Restaurant, the lunch-hour manager displayed a high level of discretion by swiftly addressing customer complaints regarding the payment lineup system. This involved engaging with customers, taking their feedback seriously, and implementing a solution involving clear floor markings to guide customer queues, thus enhancing efficiency and reducing stress for both customers and employees.
Such discretion is essential in fostering a responsive, customer-oriented service environment. However, in the scenario involving the human services agency, the manager's dismissive attitude towards employee feedback and concerns about anonymity indicates a lack of support for front line personnel discretion, ultimately impacting the organization's ability to improve its work environment and potentially hindering its goal of becoming a 'best place' to work.