The aim of this paper is to discuss on the role of front office attendants in building a service relationship in a health care service operator. Based on a case study, in which Ergonomic Analysis of Work has been applied in observations of four attendants during worktime, the research verified the importance of the workers' activities to quality of service operations, even if their main activity is to deny a customer's demand. It was observed that attendants work as a "filter" which protects back office from the variability brought by the diverse customers' requests; and that front office workers classify these diverse customers' claims based on categories create by themselves - and this labeling drives the whole service delivery process. It is concluded that the organization should profit from the attendants' competencies, demonstrated in the process of labeling the diverse demands, and that it should structure itself in order to stimulate transversal process though front and back office, thus reducing the attendants' role of "protecting back office", so as to increase service delivery quality and service value.
Service operations management; Front office; Ergonomic analysis of work; Healthcare service