Over-the-Top Customer Service

One of my big complaints about customer service these days is that companies try to "can" good customer service and dish it out to each and every customer. As a result, their reps are going through the motions, hitting their p's and q's, but you know what's missing? Their heart.

The other day I had to call my wireless company about a problem I was having. The customer service rep answered the phone friendly and said all the right words but you could tell he was reading from a script (and what's bad is when you chat live on-line iwht a rep and they use the same words!). "Hello, Mr. White, how are you today?" "That's good, how may I help you today?" "I understand, you are calling to " and so on.

I know what they are trying to do and I do commend them (the companies) for at least trying, but you can't dissect customer service and figure out "what's good" and "what's bad" and script your interactions. That isn't want customers want! Customers want to relate to another human on the other end of the phone that CARES about their problem. It's tough to relate to a script and when you know they're reading from a can of phrases, it really takes away from the integrity of the interaction, don't you think?