A lot of companies make their employees use scripts as they work with their customers. This is a major pet peeve of mine. Rather than keeping customers I believe it drives them away. When I know the person I’m talking with is working from a script, I question how able they are to help me. Because life does not conform to a script.
So if you use scripts and your customer deviates from it, then your employee is less able to help your customer. And since you’ve hired, trained, motivated and compensated your people to follow scripts, they might have little ability or inclination to help people using their own brains.
In business, as in life, you reap what you sow. If you think scripts are the way to deliver consistently amazing customer service, watch this video.
We all know this is not real. And it’s extreme. But it does demonstrate a danger of using scripts. They sound phony. They prevent employees from being genuine. They feel wrong. (And they can drive some people crazy!)
Instead hire smart, friendly people and give them the tools and encouragement to help their customers while being themselves. Customers to work with real people. They understand phony and they understand scripts. If your employees are robots you’ll drive customers away.
Other articles you might like:
- Real people rock
- Customer Retention Tip: Let your employees be real
- Customer Service Advice: Lose the Scripts. Hire Friendly.
- Have Real Conversations with Your Customers
- Use honest language
