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?

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.