I watched an episode of America’s Got Talent where a young woman on stage described her talent as belly dancing contortion. I had to admit I had no idea what that was and was intrigued enough to watch more. When she was finished, one of the judges told her she was a good contortionist, but a bad belly dancer. She defended that by saying she didn’t make a solid routine because “too much structure” made her feel like she had no freedom. She didn’t want to be “boxed in” by structure and it was obvious she was just doing an impromptu performance. For her, lack of structure translated to poor execution and elimination from the competition.
I have conversations regularly with customer service and sales representatives who tell me they hate scripts because it makes them sound robotic. They want to be free from structure and don’t want to be boxed in by having to do things a certain way every time. Company policies and procedures are confining and take too long. These free spirits want to handle each customer in a way that feels right for him or her in that moment. Free expression trumps effectiveness.
Managers can fuel the agenda of the free spirits by saying scripts only matter if the phones are slow or if they think Tooty may be calling. Recently, a manager told me she thought a script was too long and that customers were irritated by all the questions. Her solution was to cut out some assessment questions and if necessary, they would call the customer back to get information that was missed. In the hustle and bustle of a customer service department the chance of the CSR getting to that second call are slim and the potential for mistakes that affect service and billing will increase. Doing things right the first time prevents having to try and get it right a second or third time.
Customer service representatives work best when they know exactly what to do and when. Too many grey areas that leave room for interpretation will create run away out-of-the-box thinkers. This can translate into making too many exceptions to service rules, short cuts with notes and your customer receiving partial information or poor service.
Things to consider:1) The scripts are your company’s game-plan for successfully handling its customers in both sales and service related situations. If your team doesn’t like the term script, then start referring to the scripts as your company’s game-plan for success, a check-list, your company strategy or a road map to provide excellent service. Whatever name you give a script, it provides the best route to handle customer calls.
2) There are plenty of areas where a free spirit can personalize any one of the scripts. The welcoming comment, apology and closing of the call are a few areas were individual personality and style should come into play.
3) Discuss what the result might be of taking short-cuts with the scripts. If you were to eliminate asking a certain question or providing certain detail regarding service, what potential problems may that create? If each person is doing something differently, how will that affect the customer experience and your company’s image?
4) Customers like talking with someone who is organized, personable and concise.
5) Mistakes and oversights cost money.