Hiring 101; ‘Everybody Lies’

I recently discovered the greatest television show - ‘House’.  I know, I know... that’s like saying I just found microwaveable popcorn since the program has been a huge hit for years.  I’m a late bloomer, ok?  The good news for me is that they run the old episodes on cable, sometimes 4 or 5 in a row, so I can really get immersed.  The bad news is that it’s the last season.  But, I am still catching up so I won’t be sad for about another year or so, I estimate.

I find the show entertaining without being too demanding.  The writing and acting are top-notch, it balances drama and humor nicely and there are certain elements that remain consistent; House will always be on the verge of being fired, sued or both, whatever the original diagnosis is will be wrong, and will change a dozen times before the patient is cured and, most times, House will have his doctors break into a patients home in search of ‘something’ significant.  He never asks the patient’s permission because he believes that “if they know we are looking for something, they’ll hide it” since, as he is fond of reminding his staff; “people always lie.”

He has a point.  We all have things that we don’t readily share with others, parts of ourselves that we share with our family and friends and keep outside of the workplace.  Recently, there has been a lot of discussion around employers asking for access to potential employees Facebook and other social media accounts.  The argument being that this will be a way to gain insight into the candidate to enable the employer to make the best hiring decision.

What a bunch of fertilizer!

Let’s get real here.  The first thing the employer is going to be looking at is the candidates profile page and what that is going to reveal will be two types of information;  boring unimportant stuff that is already on their resume or application, and interesting unimportant stuff that it would be ILLEGAL to ask a candidate about directly.  The boring stuff is info like hometown, schools attended and previous employers, the juicy interesting stuff is religion, political affiliations, relationship status and ‘extracurricular’ activities.  All private stuff that people are able to keep private by using privacy settings to limit who can see it… because it is PRIVATE. 

It’s SOCIAL networking, like chatter in a nightclub, not PROFESSIONAL networking, like a job fair.  If I am meeting a potential client, I am in my business finery.  If I’m out with the girls for Cosmo’s… it’s a whole different section of my wardrobe… and a very different type of conversation happening at the table.

In case you’re not sure… I am opposed to employers asking for access to social networking sites.  It’s like asking for an invite to my family reunion or the keys to my front door.  You’ll find out some interesting things about me, for sure, but nothing that will help you determine whether or not I am going to be able to help you improve your contact center’s performance and customer sat scores.  In fact, you may find out some things that will lead you to think I am nuts (my sisters still like to tell people about the bleached blond Mohawk I was sporting in the mid 80’s).

I was reviewing ACD reports at a client recently and something jumped off the page and smacked me – one of the reps took less than half as many calls a day as her peers.  I figured that maybe she was that one in a million rep that just happened to get all the really, really complex calls… but, no, her call length was about the same as everyone else.  Puzzled, I asked the contact center manager if she could shed some light on this for me and she told me that that particular call center professional didn’t like taking calls so… she just avoided them like the plague!

I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that I am pretty darn sure that NOWHERE in her Facebook or LinkedIn profiles does it say; Likes – sunsets, Jeopardy, soft jazz and the Twilight books.  Dislikes – slushy sidewalks, Wheel of Fortune, Justin Beiber and answering the telephone!

Sure, look at your candidate’s LinkedIn profile, that’s what it’s there for… to give them a chance to sell themselves.  But, if you really want to know what you are getting before you hire a person …change the way you interview.

To insure that you select the best candidates to add to your team you need to be able to get them to reveal the secret toxin that may be hidden beneath their bathroom sink.  (Dr. House always has his team look under the sinks.)  After talking to, literally thousands of representatives over the last 20 years, we have determined that there a few ‘poisons’ that can be discovered up front.

Do they see things in black and white, or shades of gray?

There are folks who approach work with a ‘just tell me what to do, when to do it and for how long’ attitude and that is great for some jobs… service representative, however, is not one of them.  A great rep is flexible, adaptable and creative and, as such, able to survive in the ever-changing, super demanding, fast paced call center environment.  The folks that need to ‘be told’ what to do are going to become frustrated, frazzled and just plain burnt out in no time.

So how do you tell what kind of person is sitting across the table from you?  Ask the right questions and listen for the wrong answers.  Get them to tell you about a time that a customer wanted something out of the ordinary.  Do they refer to the ‘rules’ and what they ‘weren’t allowed to do’?  Talk with them about a time they had to juggle multiple tasks.  Did they need to be told which was most ‘important’?  Did they solicit assistance from others on their own or need their supervisor to ‘get them some help’?  Did they do what it took to get everything done or ‘try their best’ and get most of it completed?

Are they able to communicate clearly over the phone?

I listen to calls, lots of call, and it amazes me how many contact center professionals sound like they are half asleep, incredibly bored and/or talking into their armpits.  We all know that vocal tone, pacing and clarity are as important as the information being communicated and yet every call center has experienced that employee who thinks they sound great… and they don’t.  We are hiring people to talk on the phone most of the day, but how many of us actually talk to them on the phone before hiring them?  The candidate sitting upright on the opposite side of the interview room, looking you in the eye and answering your scripted question is ‘on guard’.  They are in your environment and watching your reactions (I hope).  Talk to them when they are in the comfort of their own home, slouched on the sofa, and see how they sound.  Crisp, clear and engaged?  Bring them in for a second interview.  Mumbling, distracted and hard to understand?  Don’t waste your time.

Can they rise above the fray?  Avoid the call center drama?

When hiring we are looking for people who will be able to stand their ground and support management, people who are willing to be leaders. 

I interviewed a woman who was an experienced rep in the long distance division of a telephone company.  Her department had closed due to cuts so she was looking for a new job.  She had all the right answers to all the right questions and had been passed to me for a final interview.

After the introductory niceties and building rapport, she was relaxed and I tossed out one of my favorite openers.  "So, Mary, working in a contact center for so many years, you must have experienced everything.  Tell me one of your juiciest stories."  She smiled, leaned back and launched into a story about how it was common practice for her peers to provide free long distance calls for prisoners without authorization from the company.  I clarified, "you mean, FREE phone calls WHEREVER they wanted?"  Oh, yes and “everyone knew", in fact every day at lunch the reps would try and outdo each other with stories the inmates had shared with them before their calls were connected.

So I asked her if she thought it was wrong for her peers to be giving away free calls and she agreed that it was, in fact, stealing.  But had she ever shared that opinion with her peers, or advised management about the practice?  No.  She told me, "It's not my job to say anything.” 

By allowing Mary to chat about her past experiences, to be ‘in control’ of the conversation, I was able to get her to reveal that she was inclined to turn a blind eye to unacceptable behavior rather than confront her peers and do what was best for the organization.  Needless to say, I passed on hiring her.

Dr. House is right, people do lie… a lot.  But they also tell the truth when given the chance.  Yes, approach your interviews in an organized, methodical and consistent manner, but don’t be afraid to create an environment where the candidate will feel at ease, to have control over the direction the conversation may take. 

Candidates are savvy, they know the type of question we are asking and have prepared answers in advance.  If you are expecting company, you make sure your house is in order.  It’s when someone drops by unexpected that they’ll catch you watching ‘House’ with the unfolded laundry next to you on the sofa, instead.  Not me… I ALWAYS fold the laundry as soon as it’s dry.  You believe me, right? 

Would I lie to you?

Coaching 101; If you can’t do it right, don’t you dare tell me I’m doing it wrong!

As a teenager, I took guitar lessons.  I envisioned myself as a budding Clapton or Steve Miller, but I never achieved the fame I so richly deserved (could be because I wasn’t very good, but… whatever).  Those of you who have taken music lessons know that, typically, you work on some element with the instructor, like a new chord, and he will show you how to position your fingers, have you play the chord and if it doesn’t ring true he will have you reposition your fingers or adjust your hand placement until you get it right.  Then, he assigns ‘homework’ that usually incorporates what you learned that day.

I don’t want to reveal my ‘exact’ age, but back then if you played guitar there were a few songs that were mandatory and one of them was ‘Stairway to Heaven’ by Led Zeppelin.  Now, I don’t want to stir up debate, but I wasn’t a Zep fan back then - I was a Fleetwood Mac girl.  But, I wanted to please my instructor, on whom I had an adolescent crush, so when he assigned that song as homework I told him that, yes, I LOVED it, knew it and would be playing it quite adeptly by the following week.  He offered to run through it for me but, NOOOOOO, I told him there was no need.

Here’s the deal; there is a pretty cool strumming pattern in the middle of that song and my instructor wrote it out for me in my music notebook.  But, when I sat down the next day to practice, I just could NOT figure it out because I really didn’t know the song.

I looked at the black hash marks on the staff and tried to puzzle out the 8ths, 16ths, and 32ths that comprised this unfathomable, to me, rhythm.  Try though I might, I just couldn’t figure out how it SHOULD sound, but I absolutely KNEW I didn’t have the music in me.  I could have banged out ‘Go Your Own Way’ ‘til the cows came home, but I was just not finding my footing on the ‘Stairway’.

As the week went by I found myself getting really frustrated.  I wanted to be able to play the song and was dreading having to admit during my Saturday morning lesson that I hadn’t mastered it because I just didn’t know how it was supposed to sound. 

On Thursday, I had another appointment that I wasn’t looking forward to, the orthodontist.  On the way home after getting my braces adjusted (UGH!!!) a slightly familiar song drifted out of the radio.  I gave Mom my best Poor, Poor Pitiful Me expression and asked her to turn up the volume just in time to hear the measures of music that had been vexing me all week!!  I strummed along on my knee and repeated the pattern even after the song ended.  When we got home, I raced to my guitar and practiced until suppertime. 

That Saturday I was able to play my assignment (nearly) flawlessly and was delighted to get praise from my teacher instead of being embarrassed and disappointed by being unable to demonstrate mastery.

Yes, it takes practice to master new skills and keep existing ones sharp, but before we can practice something we need to know how it FEELS and SOUNDS when done correctly.  That’s why we invest so much time in training customer service representatives (and if you aren’t you SHOULD be); to provide an environment where new learnings can be applied and mistakes can be made and corrected safely.

But, things Don’t Stop there.  Once out on the floor quality coaches, team leads, supervisors and random busybodies are responsible for listening to interactions to insure accuracy, consistency and that the level of service being provided to customers is World Class.  And, if they happen to hear something that is incorrect, or needs tweaking, it is up to them to give feedback to the rep.

But, just giving ‘Feedback’ IS NOT enough.  Coaches must be able to model the behavior they are addressing as well and that is too often the piece that is missing.  Hey, Piano Man, don’t just tell me the notes are wrong, let me hear you play it the right way so I know how it’s supposed to sound. 

There are few things more ineffective than being told that you have done something wrong without being given a clear example of how to do it correctly.  Coaches who CAN’T, or WON’T, demonstrate an effective example of the skill being addressed are one of the most CRITICAL Pitfalls to a successful coaching program.  Not only does it do nothing for the representative, it pretty much blows a great big hole in the credibility of the person doing the coaching.

Now, no one expects the coach to have the answer to every customer issue on the tip of their tongue at all times, that’s not what I am saying, but if it is your job to evaluate whether of not certain skills and behaviors are present during an interaction, you had better be able to model those skills, in the moment.

Also, coaches really need to be able to effectively identify the critical element of the interaction to coach on.  There is precious little enough time available for coaching as it is, no sense wasting time babbling about things that had little or no impact on the overall quality of the interaction.  No, coaches need to be able to identify what made the call ‘World Class’, or what caused the Crazy Train to go off the rails.

So, there are two key elements to successful coaching; Identifying the Pivotal Behavior and being able to Model the Behavior correctly.  My version of a Rock and Roll classic was not ready for prime time because, though I had most of it down cold, when it came to the pivotal point in the song, where it changed from ballad to blaster, I just couldn’t hear it in my head until I heard it with my ears.

Great coaches are only great if they enable the representatives they are working with to achieve greatness and deliver World Class Service.  If your team isn’t consistently #1 on the Charts, the reason they are sounding flat may very well be your coaching program.   Luckily, there is an effective and budget friendly solution;

Radclyffe’s Call Coaching and Calibration Sessions

These enlightening, interactive and entertaining sessions are held on Tuesday and Friday afternoons.  During the sessions we;

• Listen to ‘real’ calls provided by the participants
• Work together to identify the Pivotal Behavior during the interaction and discuss how it impacted the call
• Practice Modeling the behavior done correctly
• Strategize next steps in the coaching process

Public sessions offer the opportunity to meet coaches from different organizations and share best practices, challenges and laughter with new friends.  For companies seeking a more targeted workshop, we can schedule private sessions for groups of four or more.

Follow this link to register http://www.radclyffepartners.com/REGISTER-ONLINE-WEBSHOPS.html or give us a call at 973-291-8946 to turn your team from Second Hand News into a Band on the Run to greatness.

****Special Pricing*****

Register Before April 15^th for ANY session and Save 15%

Send Three or more participants and Save 30%

Oh, and in case you are curious, I still play but my repertoire now consists mainly of kid friendly sing-alongs performed for the demanding audience of my nieces and nephew…although, I occasionally turn the amp up to 11 and relive my Dreams.

STILL Apologizing? - Empathy vs. Sympathy

My blog entitled "Stop Apologizing!  It's not making anyone feel better!" certainly got you all talking.  In fact, it has gotten over one thousand views since I posted it, which amazes and humbles me.  Thank you all for reading it and for the lively commentary you have engaged in on the topic.

I have read every comment and noticed a trend that I can't help but address; many of you mentioned the need for 'Empathy' and that it is best expressed through a 'sincere apology'.  

That got the frustrated English professor that hides in the back of my brain thinking, what, exactly, is the difference between 'Empathy' and 'Sympathy'?

First stop - the ginormous dictionary given to me by my father many, many, many years ago when I was a wee child.  I dragged it down, dusted it off and looked up the definition for each word.

EMPATHY - the mental identification of the ego with the character and experiences of another person.

SYMPATHY - a feeling of compassion; pity; commiseration; to share the sentiments or ideas of another.

Excellent info from Mr. Webster and his progeny, but the distinction betwixt the two still seemed a bit murky so I did the next best thing and posed the question to the most knowledgeable, diverse and responsive audience possible... I posted it as my Status on Facebook. 

Got a few responses (thanks, FB friends) but still couldn't distill it into a clear, succinct sentence or two.

Finally, my sister, who is a very wise woman with a real gift for expressing thoughts clearly came up with this;

"With empathy you can understand what a person is going through because you've gone through something similar.  With sympathy you just feel badly for someone."

BINGO!  That's it, little sister.

We are right when, as service professionals, we want to express 'Empathy' and let our customers know that we can UNDERSTAND what they are experiencing because we can relate it to something - an impact.  But we are WRONG when we hope to achieve that objective by APOLOGIZING, because that is offering 'Sympathy'.

When you say "I'm sorry", you are letting someone know that you FEEL compassion, pity, 'Bad for them'.  You are showing that you 'share their sentiments'.  So, if they are unhappy with the product or service your company provided to them, you are agreeing that there is a deficit or problem and THAT, ladies and gentlemen, is NOT what we have been hired to do.  Our role is to understand the issues, gather the information needed to rectify the situation and offer a solution that pleases our customer and meets business objectives.

Sympathy = Feeling + Agreement  = Apology 

Empathy = Understanding + Action = Solutions 

Sympathy is great.  As humans we need it, we seek it, we instinctively give it to others.  Hallmark has a huge line of cards devoted to it.  But we aren't sending out cards, we are Customer Service Professionals and our responsibility is to deliver WORLD CLASS Service to all of our customers in EVERY interaction and that means taking it to the next level.  It is no longer acceptable to 'do things the way we were taught' twenty years ago, or follow the rules laid out in an employee manual or customer service book written years ago.  

Bob Dylan (if you don't know who he is, please Google him,  I already get teased around the office because I assumed that the young-un's all knew who Janis Joplin was...) sang that "... the times, they are a'changing" and not only WAS he correct, he still is.  It's time to raise the bar and then raise it again and training and empowering your associates to be able to respond to upset, unhappy, disappointed and downright angry customers with a powerful, meaningful statement that 'Acknowledges the Concern' is the first step.

I am not talking about scripted statements, I am not talking about trying to change the company or individual culture, I am not talking about taking the humanity or personality out of your representatives and their relationships with their callers.  I am talking about providing them with training that is designed specifically, incorporating Adult Learning Principles, using our Group Discovery Process (TM) and customized for each client to insure maximum retention and minimal resistance and that comes with follow-up coaching to guarantee that your coaches are driving the right behaviors.

I haven't been 'sale-sy' here because I HATE blogs that only want you to buy something, and I have been giving you all a lot of great info gratis, but I can't give away the company store.  What I CAN do make a special offer - 

Join our webinar, Effectively Empathizing and Gaining Control (Course 130), and find out exactly how to deliver effective empathy statements that will get your customers to really feel that they have been heard and you understand the impact the issues have had on them, resulting in them immediately calming down and letting you deal with them easily.  On top of that, in this webinar, you will learn the secret to diffusing irate customers and the key to gaining control of your interactions.  After attending this webinar, you will be able to:

-Take control of the interaction in the first 20 seconds of the interaction

-Diffuse even the most irate customer

-Effectively respond to a complaint using a proven empathy statement that is NOT scripted

-Build confidence in the customer's belief that you can help them

Sign up your front-line, supervisors, managers and coaches today!  Turn it around...and have the customer calm down and be easy to work with to resolve the issue! 

***Special Pricing for fans of Customer Service Tails****

Enter Promo Code - CORGI and save $50!!!  per participant 

Go to http://www.radclyffepartners.com/REGISTER-ONLINE-WEBSHOPS.html to select a date, register and pay using PayPal with your company credit.  It's as easy as that.  Feel free to call for more information at 973-291-8947.

Corgi Tails; When is the Customer NOT a Customer?

It's time for another edition of Corgi tails, which is the 'Blog within my Blog' where I take a few moments to rant, vent and unburden myself on a topic that irks me and probably many of you, too.  Let me know where you stand on this subject...

Recently, a series of events in my personal life left me pondering the definition of a Customer.  Not to get all philosophical on you, but have you ever stopped to really consider who the 'Customer' is?

I'm not talking about the eternal debate between Customer and Consumer.  Far wiser heads than mine have studied, debated and written extensively on that topic.  If you're interested, just Google 'Customer vs. Consumer' and pages of stuff will unfurl before your very eyes.  You can devote years to the study, in fact, I'll bet that someone, somewhere is attempting to get a degree on the subject. 

Well, I say 'good luck, and what a waste of money' to that person.

No, I'm talking about who the customer IS in a given situation.  IS there always a customer?

For most of us, the answer is crystal clear.  It's the person on the other end of the phone.  Clear... like, Waterford clear.  Someone dials a number, reaches us and we provide them the service of our knowledge, experience and expertise.  We answer questions, take orders, fix problems, make small talk (as appropriate); we are the 'service', they are the 'customer'... put 'em together and what have you got?  Yeah... you know.

Now, for those of us who ride the wide open prairie of face-to-face interactions, it's still pretty much the same.  Someone walks in, walks up, walks over (or drives, rides, skates, swims... whatever) and you answer questions, take orders, fix problems... see above.  The big difference is that there are probably other people lurking around while you are doing the service thing.  Lines form, kids may be running around underfoot, friends tag along and sometimes, and I hate this, the customer is being unspeakably rude and talking on their cellphone during the interaction.

In either case, it's almost always a one-on-one relationship (except for service providers in the wedding industry, God Bless them), so it's pretty easy to recognize the customer and gain and retain control of the interaction.  Especially if you are using Radclyffe Partners Interaction Strategy (TM).

So, when is the customer NOT a customer?

When the customer is not the person asking the questions, explaining the problems or requesting the assistance and when the service provider is not talking TO the customer, rather they are talking ABOUT them.  If you are wondering whether I am speaking in riddles or have been drinking, the answer is 'no'... and 'not until after 5 pm'.

The customer is NOT a customer when he or she is a patient.

For some reason, all the good, practical, meaningful, logical and just plain courteous rules of World Class, or even mediocre, Service seem to be about as welcome within hospitals, medical offices and in-patient care centers as MRSA.  (Oh, and MRSA is the flesh-eating bacteria, in case you haven't had the pleasure of meeting the beast)

I am willing to concede that often it makes sense and is even expedient for the 'doctor-patient relationship' to be kept free of the demands and entanglements that are inherent in the 'service provider-customer relationship'.  While I believe that health care providers must consider themselves partners with their patients in the common goal of wellness, I get it that sometimes that isn't possible.  Sometimes patients just aren't able, or willing, to ask for, understand and act on the complex and often frightening information necessary to be effective 'team mates' in the healing game.


That is where family and friends come in.  Every person must empower someone that they trust to be their advocate, their champion, if you will.  That person, or people, is the one who is able to ask the questions, take the notes, make the requests that need to be done.


And, make no mistake, they need to be treated as customers, with WORLD CLASS Service and, sadly, that just isn't happening consistently.


Recently, a loved one of mine, for whom I am listed as an approved advocate, was hospitalized.  During a visit, I discovered that he was not being given his medication properly, his blood sugar was not being taken, he was being provided with an inappropriate diet and was not being given the nebulizer treatments his doctor ordered.  When I was finally able to speak with one of his health care providers, I outlined all of my concerns and her response, before anything else, was to remind me to wear gloves when in his room.  

Not acknowledging a concern, failure to document important information, providing inaccurate solutions...what happens to a service representative performing at that level?

The House Doctor was in charge of his care and visited my friend early each morning to discuss his case at length.  Great.  Problem is that my friend becomes extremely disorientated when in the hospital and was unable to comprehend or even remember the conversation.  By the time visiting hours allowed me access, he was unable to relay anything the Doc had said and I would spend hours trying to track down someone who could give me the updates.  

Poor communication, failure to insure understanding and being unavailable to answer follow-up questions, you know any customer service reps who get away with that?

Finally, when he was discharged, he was transported to a rehab facility for a week of therapy to regain his strength and endurance.  When I visited him the next day, I asked him where his eyeglasses were, he had no idea.  His discharge paperwork showed that he had glasses, but no one had bothered to take a moment to locate them and insure they were kept with his other personal effects.  

Lack of accountability, follow-thru and attention to detail, how long would that representative keep their job?

My friend is home now and is doing well.  He doesn't remember, or even know about, most of the issues and concerns that were addressed by his advocates around his care and that's fine.  

I have shared, and will continue to, my dissatisfaction and concerns with dozens of people in the community served by the hospital and rehab center.  I will use many of my experiences to illustrate what poor service looks like when I am training and coaching.  I am Blogging about it right now.


My friend has put the episode behind him and will probably never mention most of it to anyone.


I am going to be talking about it for a long time.


When is the Customer NOT a Customer? 

There's ALWAYS a customer... and if you think there isn't one, you're looking in the wrong direction.  

Medicine is as much a business as any other and, increasingly, patients are becoming savvy consumers and are beginning to make choices based on the quality of the TOTAL experience.  Smart Health Care Providers and Hospitals are catching on to this as evidenced by the prevelance of Quality Surveys handed out like Halloween candy.  Problem is, right now, most patients and their advocates aren't bothering to fill them out, and, let's face it, most of the surveys aren't designed to really capture meaningful information (see my blog on the folly of Measuring Meaningless Metrics for more on THAT topic).


But, just you wait, Dr. Strangelove, we're on to you and we are going to start giving you feedback like you won't believe... and you better BELIEVE that we WILL be taking our loved ones and ourselves to the facilities and professionals that are delivering on the promise of WORLD CLASS SERVICE!


So, Physicians... heal thy service!



I'd especially love to hear from those of you who are, have been, or have friends and family in the Healthcare field.  

 - What are the challenges you face in your interactions that prevent you from delivering excellent customer service? 

- What tools and techniques do you have and use that enable you to successfully deliver World Class Service?


- What can we do to assist you in taking your service delivery to the next level?


Finally, before some of you get ready to let me have it - I am not criticizing the care and compassion with which my friend was treated.  Medicine is a demanding field.  It is complex, ever-changing, with tremendous pressures, long hours with little rest, unreasonable expectations and, often, heartbreaking losses.  I have tremendous respect and gratitude for those who have committed their lives to the well-being of others.  However, I am less than pleased with the level of Customer Service being delivered.  I know it is possible for medicine and World Class Service to coexist because I have seen it in my own life.  It is rare, but an entirely realistic goal and I think it needs to become part of the conversation as we strive to provide the best healthcare to all of our citizens.


I am now stepping off of my soap box.  Thanks for letting me rant.

Stop Apologizing! It's not making ANYONE feel better!!

Which of the following is the best response?

1. "I am so sorry to hear that the vase you ordered arrived damaged."
2. "Mrs. Moneybux, I'm sorry that your account is overdrawn." 
3. "So you were driving down the highway and the wheels fell off of your bus?  I am very sorry about that."
4. "You had to wait 3 hours for a representative to answer your call?  Wow, I am really sorry." 
5. "Your computer crashed?  At least you have your health!"

We've trained thousands of reps and listened to a gillion interactions (that may be a slight exaggeration) and I'm going with number five!  Now before you quality coaches and management folks send me poison-emails, allow me to explain.

Elton John may have sung that "...sorry seems to be the hardest word."  But, things sure as heck have changed!  'Sorry' has become the easiest word in the average customer service representative's vocabulary, showing up as often as 'please' and 'thank you', and I am here to tell you STOP!  Stop saying it, stop letting others say it, stop hearing it, stop, stop, stop the madness!!!

First of all, the egregious overuse of a once effective word has rendered it nearly meaningless.  Be honest, the last time someone told you they were sorry (other than a family member or close friend) did you believe them?  Really believe them?  Or did you feel like they were saying it because that's what they were supposed to do?  I purchased an underwater camera as a gift for my niece's 6th birthday, specifically because three weeks later she was going on a Disney cruise and I wanted her to be able to use it on the trip.  Of course, there was something wrong with it, and they were unable to send a replacement in time for the trip.  My precious niece was disappointed, I was devastated and the customer service representative was sorry.  Who do you think felt better?


Which brings me to the second reason to stay away from 'I'm sorry'; have you ever apologized for something that you had no control over?  How'd that make you feel?  Before I stepped to the front of the conference room, I spent many years jacked in as a rep.  One of the more memorable stints was during a 'crisis'.  The company I was working for took a brave stand regarding a social issue, which resulted in thousands of calls from unhappy folks.  Upwards of 80 calls a day were simply complaints, for which we apologized. (By the way, I agreed with the decision my employer had made and was, actually, quite proud of their courageous position.)  By the end of the day I felt drained, depressed and damned for having spent 8 hours lying.  It's just not fair to require people to spend the day apologizing for something they have no control over.


And we have arrived at the third reason; accountability.  When you hear any apology, what's it make you think?  That there was something going on that deserved apologizing for!  I recently found out that the engine in my car needs to be replaced.  While this is actually covered under the warranty, I also found out that I need to be able to prove that my oil was changed every 3000 miles for the company to honor the agreement.  Since I change my own oil, I am unable to prove this to their satisfaction.  When I pointed out to the service manager that this policy seems like a convenient way for them to avoid replacing my engine (and a friend who worked for them confirmed this is a common problem with my car model) he agreed, and said he was sorry.


The only time a service representative should apologize is if the problem is something that they had control over.  Promised to call a customer back and forgot?  Apologize.  Didn't send out those coupons?  Apologize!  Ate the last slice of birthday cake in the break room?  APOLOGIZE!  And bring me a Boston creme donut tomorrow!


How, then, should we respond to the disappointed, distressed and downright disturbed caller?  If we aren't going to say 'I'm sorry' and we aren't going to ignore them (No, you can't just ignore them, good grief, that's worse than apologizing!) what to do?


Use the first step in Radclyffe's Interaction Strategy(TM) and Acknowledge The Concern.  Acknowledging The Concern is summarizing how the customer is feeling and paraphrasing his or her stated issue, which allows you to focus on the customer’s personal needs before moving into the business part of the call.  Customers need to know that they have been heard before they can relax and relinquish control of the call.  Apologizing doesn't accomplish that.  


People need to know that you have heard their issue, AND, that you understand the impact that it had on them.  


"I can imagine how disappointed you must be that your niece will not be able to take pictures on her vacation."


"I can hear that it upsets you that our company has chosen to support an issue with which you disagree."


"I know you must be frustrated that our policy seems designed to insure that we don't have to fix the lemon we sold you."  (Okay... technically that wouldn't be a great thing to say, but it's my blog so I can take a little detour into fantasy.)


Acknowledge Their Concern and your customers will KNOW that you really hear them and understand how the situation has impacted their life.  It will give them confidence in you and your ability to empathize with them in a professional and meaningful manner.  Once they have confidence in you, they will relax and allow you to get the information which is needed to resolve their issue, be open to the solution you offer and they will leave the interaction having enjoyed World Class Service.  

You'll never get all of that from 'Sorry'... even if Sir Elton himself is saying it.

Feedback is NOT a sandwich; 'Where's the BEEF?'

A colleague of mine, who is an internationally known author and speaker, successful entrepreneur, comic and really great guy, just loaded me into a time machine and took me back to the 1980's, where we invented the CD, invested in Microsoft and moon-walked our way across the dance floor.

OK, just kidding.  Though I do wish I had invested in Microsoft and if anyone is looking for a blazer with HUUUUGE shoulder pads, I still have a couple.

What my friend did do is publish an article on 'How to Give Feedback' that took me back in time.  It was all about the 'sandwich technique'.  Now, no offense to my pal or any of you that are fans of that approach, but, in the iconic words of a gravelly voiced Little Old Lady, "Where's the Beef?" 

For those of you too young to remember the 'sandwich' approach to giving corrective feedback (and who also probably don't remember that Little Old Lady's name), a quick review;

The 'sandwich technique' involved stuffing the corrective (Perhaps unpleasant? Unwelcome?) bit of feedback between two fluffy, nutritionally insignificant slabs of positive.  

Might sound a bit like this; "Wendy, it's great how you are all set to start work when you get to your desk, I really appreciate that you take the time to get breakfast, since it is the most important meal of the day...unfortunately, you are always 45 minutes late.  Do you think you could try to get to work on time in the future?...  Thanks so much for trying to do that and it's great that you bring coffee and donuts for the team, that's so very thoughtful, yummy!"

WRONG!  And on so many levels.

This style of feedback delivery harkens back to the days where supervisors and coaches were frequently the associates who had been working in the department the longest and had few qualifications and precious little training for delivering effective performance feedback.  This technique  was great because is was all 'warm and fuzzy', had a lot of buildup to get the coach going, and a nice smooth landing on the other side where the coach could re-establish that they were still 'friends'.  

It resulted in very little pushback from the recipient and even less actual CHANGE in performance.  Why?  Because clumping together all that feedback takes away from the positive, creates confusion so that the recipient doesn't know what to focus on, and, it leads people to begin to expect something negative is going to follow the positive.

"Honey, I love you but..."

Truth be told, the 'sandwich' approach is an attempt to manipulate people into accepting negative or constructive feedback and it is dated, ineffective and, frankly, insulting.

Feedback is a gift.  I know, we have all joked about the 'gift' of feedback, but you know what?  It is.  

No longer are supervisors and coaches chosen simply because they have been at the company the longest.  Service organizations recognize that those roles require very specific skills and competencies, as well as ongoing training, and are investing in hiring and promoting highly qualified, dedicated and committed people and entrusting them with the ongoing development of their critical, front-line representatives... the face of the company.

At the same time, the role and responsibilities of customer service representatives have become more clear, demanding and valued.  No longer are these folks order-takers and glorified operators, no... they are the direct conduit between a company and its customers, an unparallelled resource to collect information, track trends and generate revenue.  Today's customer service representatives do the heavy lifting for their organizations and that muscle needs more than a slice of bologna between two pieces of white bread to get the job done.

Feedback needs to have substance, be able to fuel growth, whether it is affirming a positive behavior, boosting an attempt or correcting a deficit.  At Radclyffe we have been instructing coaches on just how to maximize the value of their feedback sessions for nearly 20 years.  We have 'cracked the code' and developed a proven methodology, grounded in adult learning principles, that insures maximum retention and measurable improvement, when applied consistently; Radclyffe Partners ABC's of Immediate Feedback (TM).

If you have observed a behavior that needs to be addressed, you owe it to your representative or co-worker to do so in a clear, direct, respectful and constructive manner by following our strategy which focuses on ONE behavior at a time, gives either positive or constructive feedback - not BOTH - and is designed to insure that the associate is able to internalize the feedback without having an emotional response to it.

"Wendy, I wanted to speak with you about your attendance.  I notice that you arrive at 9am, but then go to the cafeteria to get your coffee and breakfast.  As a result, you aren't actually at your desk and available to take incoming calls until 9:20 or later.  If you want to get breakfast here, I'd suggest that you plan on getting on campus by 8:30 to give you enough time to get settled at your desk by 9.  Please give that a try, alright?"

No fluff, no filler, no indigestible by-products... a few minutes of preparation on the part of the coach, a few seconds of delivery side-by-side on the floor, a commitment to change and everyone gets on with business.

That is where you find the BEEF!  (Or, veggie protein, for our vegan friends)  

The ABC's of Immediate Coaching is just one component in our comprehensive Coaching for Service Excellence program, which includes in depth training and practice in the four most effective types of coaching, how to introduce and roll out your coaching program, get support and buy-in from all levels of the organization, track and analyze trends both by rep and department and use the coaching feedback and data to make reviews and performance plans a breeze to write and deliver.

We are so excited by this set of tools and how brilliantly effective they are, that we would like to offer a complimentary hour of consulting to help you or your coaches apply them within your organization.  

To get your coaching session, simply do two things; 

-sign up via email to have each new 'Customer Service Tail' delivered right to your inbox, and...


-leave me a comment including the name of that Crotchety Little Old Lady who was searching for the beef in the Wendy's commercials.

We'll contact you to work out the scheduling details.  Look forward to chatting!

Corgi Tails; Stop Measuring Meaningless Metrics!

My wireless service provider has once again been ranked at the top of the heap in yet another prestigious survey.  I would agree.  I had to call them last night, in fact, because my aircard was malfunctioning, and the representatives were polite, respectful, as knowledgeable as one would expect depending on whether you have been transferred to a service specialist or are dealing with the tier one rep.  They asked for an alternate callback number at the start of the call so that they could reach me should we become disconnected.  They respectfully referred to me as Ms.  They verified all information, were patient with my lack of technical savvy, walked me through each step of the process as they tried to resolve my issues, offered alternate solutions and reviewed next steps. Finally, at the end of the call the lovely woman assisting me noted that I might be receiving a follow up call and asked me if I would be able to agree that she 'tried her best to help me?'  I honestly and heartily said 'yes'.

My contract will expire in March.  I will be switching to another carrier.

Why?  In the 21 months I have been a customer of this company, I have had to call at least a dozen times, had my aircard device replaced a half dozen times, experienced more dropped calls than I can count and lost hours of valuable time trying to conduct business using their service.  Oh, and I clearly told both of the reps I spoke with last night that I will be taking my business elsewhere.  They each sincerely apologized... so what.

Here's the deal.  I am as passionate about service delivery as a person can be.   I have file cabinets full of customer sat surveys done by my clients that prove that I know what excellent service looks like and how to train reps to deliver it... problem is, we at Radclyffe have realized that we in the customer service industry have been measuring the wrong things!

Look at a typical call monitoring form.  It's a glorified checklist of did they or didn't they?  Did they use the standard greeting? Ask permission to hold? Use the callers name?  Blah, blah, blah.  Measured against that, everyone can 'meet' their service objectives.  But what about from the customers perspective?  

Ask me if the rep did everything she could to resolve my issue and the answer is 'yes'.  But ask me if my issue was resolved and the answer is a resounding 'NO'.

We owe it to our customers to start measuring the success of our interactions with them based on what matters to them.  To do that we need to look at the 'pivotal behavior',  that fork in the road where the call either headed off into the stratosphere of success, or took a turn down 'OK' Lane.  It's time to tear up the '50 point check list call monitoring form' and realize good enough ISN'T good enough. The only way to do this is to involve, empower and train your service people to not just respond to the stated issue, but to uncover and resolve the core issue.

Last night my issue was not that my aircard wasn't working... it was that it wasn't working AGAIN and I was in danger of missing a critical deadline at work.  I said it, three times... but neither of the polite, friendly, NICE reps heard me.  Well, they won't be hearing me in March, either... one of their competitors will. Oh, and I KNOW why they ask for that 'alternate' callback number... it's because even they know that if I am calling from my cellphone we are pretty darn likely going to get disconnected.  Hey, at least they position the request positively!

That's my rant for today.  Oh, and I promised to answer the question how fast does a Corgi wag its tail in the next 'Corgi Tails', if you really want to know, leave me a comment.