Reasons Not to Use a A Customer Service Script

16 Jan Reasons Not to Use a A Customer Service Script

Despite her best performance, the customer service script Jessie was required to use didn’t win her an Oscar and it didn’t answer the customer’s questions.  The customer found it just as irritating as she did. Though they have some useful applications there are reasons not to use a script in customer service.

This isn’t Hollywood

You didn’t hire actors, or maybe you did, but you didn’t hire them for a one-sided performance they repeat for each audience. Customer service is a dialogue and not every issue is the same.

Room for accommodating individual customer issues is important. A rigid script that doesn’t address the issue leaves customers feeling they have wasted their time. When call resolution is impacted your business is wasting money too.

This isn’t a Lecture Either

Students sleeping in a lecture is a common image This isn’t only because they have a hangover. Dry data dumps of information over a long period of time put people to sleep.

A speedy resolution benefits both customer and company. If you have a script with a lot of information not pertinent to the customer you are wasting their time and yours.  

Also, unless you hired actors your customer service agents aren’t used to making a script sound authentic. This impacts customer satisfaction. From Hubspot:

“Research from Software Advice revealed that 84% of surveyed customers felt their experience improves “more than slightly” when a representative doesn’t sound like they are reading from a script.”

Your aim is to solve customer issues not put customers to sleep.

Your Customers Will Hate You

Problems happen. They aren’t scheduled like brunch. An issue is a wrench in the day. Spending time fixing something without getting paid is even more maddening. Therefore, your customer is already unhappy. The less pleasing the customer service experience the more your customer will resent your company. Scripting tends to add fuel to the fire:

‘“It’s that kind of stiff, robotic, ‘I have been told to say this and I’m going to say it’ behavior that just makes the angry or unsatisfied or frustrated customer go off the deep end,” explains Gail Goodman, a business phone skills consultant and advisor to the call center industry.’

A Customer Service Agent isn’t a Toaster

A toaster is great at browning bread but who wants it fixing a billing issue? Tying agents down to a script limits their ability to assist customers. Scripts are missing the nuance of addressing unique issues and of human interaction. From Forbes:

“But customer concerns come in infinite varieties, with infinite moods, paces and nuances. So instead of training to a script, the best thing an organization can do is teach its people to deal with situations, both good and difficult. Give them the tools to recognize behaviors and respond appropriately and effectively.”

Allowing your agents to use the expertise they have acquired through addressing issue after issue shows respect for their skill and results in improved performance:

“Customer service reps are less engaged in their work when scripts stand in for training and when they don’t have the flexibility they need to interact with customers and create the personalized support experience that’s now expected. Maybe that explains the turnover? Reps, like everyone else, want meaningful and fulfilling work. The good ones want to make a difference.”

If you want a feel good ending to your customer service story leave the scripted empathy to Hollywood. You want to win over your customer not the Academy. They will love you for it, really love you.