how can tone of voice affect a customers experience?

how can this be managed and changed

Tone of voice on the telephone -- is the customer's only clue to the sincerity, honesting, caring (etc.) of your service person. If a customer is turned off by the tone, they tune out and/or look for service/products elsewhere.

If telephone is the issue to help your employees change - have them record voices (even the greetings give away tone); listen to the tone and let them react to their sounds. Normally, the discussion and practice that follows makes real inroads with employees and helps them change tones.

Tone of voice in email is just as important - requires more attention to using "Please" and "Thank you" - These phrases do not impede efficiency or speed of responses!

Tone is possibly the most important part of an interaction between customer and Agent - whether telephonic, email, letter etc. It is the indicator to the customer of whether they are being taken seriously or not. When a customer calls with a serious problem, the last thing that is wanted is someone with a flippant tone. This will not instil any sense of commitment nor will it give the customer that "warm and fuzzy" feeling that their issue will be resolved.

This is where you can keep or loose a customer.

Within Induction, I use the term it's not what you say it's how you say it and the central theme is tone. We have fun with this and say the same sentence in different tones... For example, I like your hair in a dull, disinterested tone of voice and then say the same sentence in a happy, interested, believable tone.

We have a few giggles but the debrief is to ensure the customer trusts in what you say and ensure this is believable especially in telephone conversations.