Analysts at the Corporate Executive Board (CEB) studied customer service calls and the ratings that customers provided afterward. To the researchers’ surprise, only half of the customers’ ratings were attributable to the particular call they had just experienced. The other half reflected the way they had been treated previously. (For instance, if the customer had made six previous calls to get an issue resolved, then it didn’t matter if the seventh was handled brilliantly.) The CEB team called the customers’ memory of previous treatment their “baggage.” Most call center reps had the instinct to avoid the customer’s baggage. If they saw in the records that the customer had been passed around a lot, they wouldn’t mention it. Why bring it up? It’s like pouring salt on the wound, they figured. Better just to resolve the issue as quickly as possible. So the CEB ran a set of studies on the art of “baggage handling.” At one call center, the researchers assigned reps at random either to ignore customer baggage or to address it. For instance, let’s say that a customer had called repeatedly about battery problems with a new tablet computer. Compare the responses of the reps: BAGGAGE-IGNORING REP NO. 1: Thanks for your purchase. I understand that you are having a problem with the battery. Let’s start from the beginning by going to the “Settings” section on your tablet to make sure that you are not using any feature that is draining your battery more quickly than normal. BAGGAGE-HANDLING REP NO. 2: Thanks for your purchase. I understand that you are having a problem with the battery. . . . Hmm, according to our system, it looks like you’ve called several times about this, is that right? Okay, thanks. Can you tell me what you have tried already, and what has or has not worked to help preserve the battery life? Then we can take it from there instead of repeating stuff you’ve already tried. Baggage handling is responsive: It demonstrates understanding and validation of a customer’s frustrating past experience. And the effect it had on calls was stunning: Customers rated the quality of their experience with Rep No. 2 almost twice as highly as the other, and their perceptions of the effort they had to invest to resolve the problem plummeted by 84%. In his landmark paper on responsiveness, Harry Reis had set out to explain a “central organizing principle” of relationships. His primary focus was on what makes personal bonds stronger. But we’ve seen the broad reach of the principle: It can explain not just what makes partners happier in a marriage, but also what makes employees feel noticed and valued, what makes patients feel respected in their treatment, and even what makes customers satisfied with a support call. If we want more moments of connection, we need to be more responsive to others.
The final passage I’ll be sharing of this book. On this anecdote, I’ve realised what people really want from customer service is to be understood and empathized with. Hence, why acknowledge the previous issues a customer have and not following a script can make such a huge difference in the mood of even an irate customer.
After all, that is what what most of us innately want/need, a desire for connection and to be understood.
