'Scriptease' - Exposing Your
Business Frailties
A discussion paper by
Andy Hanselman*This article originally appeared in the Yorkshire Post Business Week on 23/08/05
'Scriptease' - Exposing Your
Business Frailties
by Andy Hanselman
'Scriptease' n; A performance, often on the telephone or in a retail outlet, in which a
person doesn't think for themselves, but sticks to a script and leaves a customer
unfulfilled. See also: Sales Prevention Officer.
A call to one of the 118 telephone directory services recently
reinforced my view that the pursuit of helpfulness by scripted
response fails miserably.
Having booked to stay in a hotel near Chester (we were going
to the races for the day), we arrived in the area without our
booking details. Knowing we wouldn't actually get to the hotel
until much later, we thought we should call the hotel to 'check
in' over the phone.
Not having the number, I called a 118 operator to ask for it.
"The St. David's Hotel, near Chester, please" I said. "Sorry, that number is ex directory" I
was told! "But it's a hotel!" I replied, "and part of a prestigious national chain too!"
Silence… and then, the automatic pilot kicked in. Unfortunately, it headed straight towards the
mountain side… "I've got the St. David's Hotel in Harlech if that's any good?"
It's what I call 'Scriptease' - it's easier to revert to the script than to use your initiative. Maybe the
operator was told to do this, maybe he wasn't encouraged or trained to think, perhaps he just
couldn't be bothered. 'Scriptease' is ever too common, and it's not limited to directory enquiries.
A delegate at a seminar I was speaking at recently revealed his experience of calling a train
company and asked for a single to London. He was told it was £52 - much more expensive than
the £28 return journey he'd read about. He asked the operator about this, who dutifully confirmed
that this offer was indeed available. "I'll have a return for £28 then please". Amazingly, the
response was "Because I know you're only making a single journey, I cannot sell you this
ticket!". He put the phone down, called back, and asked for a return - wouldn't any of us? But,
why the hell should we?
Any business that encourages (or even simply allows) their people to perform 'Scriptease'
demonstrates little concern for their customers. But why does it happen? Surely they recognise
that satisfied (even 'delighted') customers is a prime goal for any successful organisation?
There appears to be a number of reasons. Helping ensure consistency is a regular response to the
criticism. What's so good about consistency? Sure, I want a quality response, but I want passion, I
want personality, I want 'engagement'. Customers more and more are looking for 'experiences'. In
fact, I personally like inconsistency. Give me someone who listens to me, thinks about what I've
said, and responds accordingly.Another typical cause is measuring, and therefore, by definition, prioritising the wrong things - the
number of calls answered (more please), time to answer a call (quicker please), length of time on
the phone (shorter please) rather than the fundamental principle of customer satisfaction.
It doesn't have to be like that. First Direct, recognised as a role model in customer service, does
not have scripts, nor do they measure call times in that way.
"Unlike most call centres, at First Direct call handling times are for budgeting and
resourcing purposes only. We do measure wrap time and time spent facing the customer.
But, I just love our people talking to our customers as much as they want to talk" explained
David Mead, former Customer Service Director with First Direct, speaking at The European
Conference on Customer Management.
"There is no scripting at First Direct - only in the initial security checks. It is important for
the dialogue to be spontaneous and for it to have individuality. We want our people to have
fun, have lively conversations, and look to match the customer's expectations." What a
refreshing change - It works. I know, I'm a customer.
The solution does not lie in answering the phone in three rings - One business I worked with
seemed to think that this was the answer to everything. Everyone was encouraged to vigorously
pursue the challenge of answering in three rings. It became the clarion call of the MD - until my
feedback to him… all his, and his team's efforts were producing, was poor service, quicker!
It's not just call centres. Shops and restaurants are rife with automatons who appear to be there
just to fill the floor space. I know I shouldn't, but I sometimes just can't resist throwing people off
guard. If I'm asked "Can I help you?" in an uninterested way just to fulfil obligations, secretly
hoping I'll just say "No thanks, I'm only looking", allowing them to carry on doing what they were
doing (too often, unfortunately, that appears to be nothing), I reply quickly "With what?" Nobody
expects that one! It completely throws them!
In too many organisations, it's not the individuals' fault. The culture and systems reinforce
'Scriptease'. A friend once worked part time in the local branch of a major retailer. When Julie
arrived on her first day, the manageress informed her she had to wear a name badge at all times.
Unfortunately, there wasn't one with Julie on it, so she was told to wear one with Rachel on for the
first three weeks! A truly wonderful example of the manageress performing a 'Scriptease'. The
rules were clearly more important than the person.
The best businesses truly 'empower' their people to use their initiative, their brains, and their
personalities. They do it through clear guidelines, training, encouragement and rewards.
A recent flight on Easyjet highlighted the 'delight' of someone prepared to go 'off script'. A
'flamboyant' air steward had developed his own version of all the usual announcements you hear
on a plane. For example, he informed us that it was a non-smoking flight, and "the only fags
allowed were amongst the crew". Not 'politically correct', I know, but it brought smiles throughout
the cabin. "Thank you for flying with us today," he said just before disembarking "we hope
you"ve enjoyed it. If you have please tell your friends about us, if you haven't, thank you
once again for flying Ryanair!" His personality truly shone through from take off to landing. He
was rewarded with a thunderous round of applause and a group of passengers starting their
holidays with huge smiles on their faces.
The message is clear. In a world of sameness and 'Scriptease', daring to be different is surely the
way forward. Encouraging your team to be that difference by providing an individual, personal,
engaging and memorable experience is the way to get ahead. Have a nice day, now!10 Tips To Avoid
'Scriptease' In Your Business
1. Spot It Happening!
Get someone to ring up your own business or visit it to make an enquiry. How good are your people at dealing
with enquiries? Ask them to feedback on their experiences. Consider a 'mystery shopper' exercise. Establish
ongoing feedback systems that allow customers to tell you when it's happening - reward them for spotting it!
2. Throw Out The Rule Book!
In your business exists a book. It's a book of rules, regulations and procedures that people quote from
verbatim and use daily. You'll never find it! It's invisible, but somehow it lives, breathes and influences
behaviours in your business. Some of the rules are good, many are limiting. Your challenge is to discover its
negative contents, and throw them out. Examples include 'We can't…' 'We must…' and 'I'm not allowed…' Ask
your people about it - many will quote it word for word.
3. Champion Your Customer Champions!
Who creates the best reaction from your customers in your business? Work out what they do, how they do it,
what they say and how they say it! Replicate it! Get others to learn from them. Encourage (and reward) them to
share their experience. What's the reward for being great with customers in your business? (In too many, it
means you get to deal with more of them, i.e. lots more work!).
4. Empower Your People
It's a buzzword, but true empowerment is about giving people the confidence, skills and permission to think,
anticipate and actually do things. Confidence is about support, encouragement and leadership; skills is about
training, development and learning; permission is about setting and communicating clear guidelines for all. "I
have only empowered my people to say 'Yes' to a customer. If they want to say 'No' they have to talk to a manager and clear it
with them first" Jan Carlzon, author of Moments of Truth, on his time as CEO at Scandinavian Airline Systems.
5. Hire For Attitude!
Recruit frontline people who can demonstrate their listening and conversation skills. Assess their
ability to build rapport, think on their feet, identify problems, be spontaneous and generate ideas.
Do your recruitment processes find these aptitudes? If not, change them! "We don't look for high systems
knowledge and 80% of our recruitment is NOT from banking. The ability to speak their minds, project their personality and high
levels of resilience are much more important" David Mead, when he was Customer Service Director at First
Direct.
6. Ban Scripts
Simple. Let's move on.
7. Generate Alternatives
Get your team together and encourage them to come up with 'conversation generators' ideas for
dealing with specific scenarios, problems, and enquiries. 'Role play', work out what works, replace
what doesn't. Train people, encourage them to experiment, set challenges, have fun!
8. Role Model
Sometimes we need a 'spark' to help us. Sometimes we need some inspiration. Other times, we just
need someone to learn from. Who sets the standards that wow you? Don't restrict yourself to your
industry (you might all be poor!). Get your people to call, visit and talk to them. What do they do well
that impresses you? What can you learn? No, don't simply copy them… work out what you can
'borrow, 'amend' and 'improve'. Encourage your team to do the same. Why not ask your customers
who they think you can learn from?
9. Measure Impacts
Monitor and measure levels of customer satisfaction, loyalty, repeat business, conversion rates,
sales, not just length of calls, number of calls, or number of rings. Remember it's about quality and
quantity. What gets, measured, gets managed. Let your people know what's important. If they
understand its about customer engagement, satisfaction and service, they can adjust their
behaviours accordingly.
10. Get Your Personality Across
How do you want people to feel about your business? What lasting impression do you want to
make? What is your competitive advantage? Answer these questions and then answer this one…
Does the way we interact with our customers totally reinforce this? If it doesn't, then do something
about it today.Who Is Andy Hanselman?
Andy Hanselman is a recognised expert in improving business competitiveness and is a regular
speaker on business development issues such as Leadership, Revolutionary Organisations, Sales
& Marketing, CRM, Customer Care. His specialist subject is 'Maximising Customer Relationships'.
and having presented to over ten thousand business leaders and decision makers Andy is recognised
for his engaging, humorous, and down to earth approach - His stimulating, motivational and practical
style offers real solutions to today's business problems.
Andy has developed a reputation for innovative, inspirational and stimulating training and motivational
seminars, and is in demand as a speaker at team building events, seminars and conferences up and
down the country.
Recognised by Enterprise Magazine as a Future Top 100 Entrepreneur, he has over 14 years
experience working with, and learning from directors, partners and senior managers of literally
thousands of businesses. This has identified some common factors that distinguish successful
companies and their leaders from their competitors, helping them compete, not get beat.
After helping develop a successful training and consultancy business for someone else, Andy founded
his own consultancy, Hallmarks Business Development in 1995, which he recently sold to its
management team freeing him up to concentrate on speaking and writing.
He now consults,, speaks and trains senior decision makers in a wide range of industries and has
developed numerous business development programmes, training and motivational seminars as well
as regularly writing articles and papers for local and national media.
As a speaker he thrives on interacting with delegates ensuring that they are challenged, stimulated
and motivated. His style is participative, fast paced, humorous and relevant. He believes people learn
best by doing and having fun! As a result he offers practical, stimulating fresh ideas, tools and
techniques that provide audiences with no-nonsense 'stuff' they can actually use in their businesses
immediately.
If you would like to discuss any of the issues raised in this document, or find out how Andy Hanselman
could help you create Maximised Customer Relationships in your business, please call Andy on 0114
2434666 or email: andy@competeorgetbeat.com
For further information about Andy Hanselman Consulting visit: www.andyhanselman.com
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