8:32 am, July 16, 2025
In the world of automotive customer experience, the human voice still holds unmatched power.
At Direct Affinity CX, operations director Lottie Roberts has made it her mission to ensure that every voice on the end of the line doesn’t just sound right, but feels right too.
Lottie’s role is deceptively simple: Match the right person to the right call, whether for sales drives, aftersales campaigns, enquiry qualification or customer satisfaction surveys.
But dig a little deeper, and you’ll see it’s a philosophy that has transformed how Direct Affinity builds, trains and supports its customer experience teams.
‘Every conversation starts before the phone rings,’ she says. ‘It begins with understanding our own people, as in the agent leading the call. What drives them? How do they handle pressure? How do they naturally connect with others? When we get that right, the whole experience improves, for the customer and our clients.’
Her work involves more than team management. It’s a philosophy that reshapes hiring, training, and even how success is measured.
The Direct Affinity CX team has developed a profiling system that evaluates agents not only on performance metrics but on their interpersonal strengths – qualities like warmth, patience, listening, consistency and emotional self-awareness.
‘Sales calls need energy and resilience. Aftercare calls demand patience and trust-building.
‘When it comes to complaint handling, you need calmness, empathy and the ability to acknowledge emotion without necessarily agreeing. That’s not something you can script; it has to come naturally.’
Rather than relying on static metrics like call time or resolution speed, Lottie and her team use a methodology built around nine key aspects of emotional intelligence. These are embedded in everything from training programmes to post-call evaluations.
Listening carefully. Responding with genuine understanding. Maintaining composure under pressure. Picking up subtle changes in tone. It’s about making the customer feel genuinely understood.
Direct Affinity CX has shifted from a traditional call centre model to one that functions more like a purpose-built team of communicators.
Training is continual, with masterclasses and coaching that go beyond scripts and workflows. Experienced team members are encouraged to refine their style, adapt to different customer moods and stretch their emotional range.
‘It’s not about perfection,’ Lottie says. ‘It’s about staying curious and open. Even the best agents grow when they’re supported to try something new.’
The impact is measurable. Clients regularly report that Direct Affinity CX agents feel like a natural extension of their own brand. C
ustomer satisfaction scores are rising. Internal promotions and retention are stronger than ever. But perhaps most telling of all is the atmosphere within the team itself: collaborative, motivated and emotionally attuned.
Lottie’s influence also reaches beyond the contact centre floor. She champions career development across the business and has become a visible mentor for young women entering the industry.
By embedding emotional intelligence into the core of the company’s culture, she’s helping shape not just how agents work but also how they grow.
‘In a world racing toward automation, it’s easy to forget the value of a real conversation,’ Lottie says. ‘Yes, we use data and insights. But our biggest asset is still our people.’
It’s a people-first philosophy that’s helping redefine CX, not just for Direct Affinity, but for the future of customer service across the industry.
If you want to build customer relationships that feel real, consistent and deeply human, Lottie and the team at Direct Affinity CX would love to talk.
You can find out more here.
