We spend a lot of time telling people what to say. Perhaps we should spend more time teaching them how to have a conversation.
Welcome to our Customer Service Series — reflections and lessons on how service is designed, delivered, and experienced, from frontline conversations to leadership choices.
We Shopped for a Dishwasher
Recently, the dishwasher at my mother-in-law’s house in Germany died.
We were sent out to find a new one.
I confess I didn’t have high expectations of service finesse at a big box appliance store.
We trudged into the last store on the list, and a young woman approached us to see how she could help.
After we filled her in on our mission, she directed us over to the dishwasher section.
As she spoke, it struck me that her competence went well beyond product knowledge and being polite.
She carried on a conversation with us.
Full sentences. Clarity. Thoughtful responses. Positive word choices. A calm, unrushed demeanor.
By the time we paid at the counter, I knew more about dishwashers than I expected.
And I recalibrated my expectations of service excellence in a big box appliance store.
But best of all, I felt confident that the dishwasher we bought was going to be exactly right for my mother-in-law.
That’s reassurance.
And reassurance feels good.
The German Apprenticeship System
That service experience made me wonder.
Was that service professional’s competence:
- A one-off — we were just lucky enough to have her serve us
- Systemic — we could have expected this level of conversational competence from anyone who served us
Germany has a tradition of vocational education and apprenticeships, combining extensive classroom learning with practical, on-the-job development.
It got me thinking about the Customer Service departments I’ve worked with that shine.
They shine, in part, because they believe that service is a profession.
A profession where conversational competence is deliberately developed over time.
Compare that to places where training for new service professionals lasts a few weeks.
Sometimes followed by a stint with a buddy to help them ease into the live environment.
After which the emphasis shifts to meeting operational requirements.
Get those calls picked up and answered.
Conversational Competence
Farmers grow things, tailors sew clothes, bakers bake bread.
In service, we make conversations.
That’s our product.
That’s where conversational competence comes in.
From our experience across frontline training and client Mystery Shopper programs, there’s more to a great conversation than product knowledge or polite phrases.
In the same way we expect a tailor to make a well-fitting suit, or a hairstylist to give us a terrific cut, we should expect conversational competence from a frontline professional.
Once leadership believes that service is a profession, and accepts that the conversation is the product, the approach to training, coaching, and quality management expands beyond onboarding and basic compliance exercises.
Everyone realizes that conversational competence deserves the same deliberate investment, over time, as any other professional skill.
Compliance Doesn’t Create Connection
In some Contact Centers, conversations continue to be heavily scripted.
Frontline professionals must adhere to a strict list of compliance behaviours, in the hope that those behaviours will magically coalesce into a competent conversation.
I’m sure you’ve been on the receiving end of these robotic conversations.
You can almost hear the boxes being ticked.
Now, More than Ever, We Need Great Conversations
Yes, much of service has gone digital.
But that reality only increases the importance of conversational competence for the conversations that remain human to human.
As the Customer situations presented to our frontline people become more complex and emotional, the demands on our frontline people to navigate these conversations well grow too.
The young woman in the appliance store reminded me what a great service conversation feels like — and single-handedly raised my expectations of a big box appliance store.
And she reinforced my belief that these days, in a world where so much is digital, we could all use a few more great conversations in our lives.
Customer Service Series Articles
Continue exploring Customer Service with these additional resources.
Quizzes, Conversations, & Perception
15 Quiz Questions on Customer Email Writing
These 15 quiz questions are designed to test your understanding of Customer email writing principles.
Too Sensitive? A Service Lesson from the Princess & the Pea
A reminder that dealing with difficult Customers is less about judging irritation and more about choosing a mature response.
Rushing to Give an Answer: What About Trust?
Build trust by listening first and earning the right to offer a solution.
What Australia and Greece Had in Common: A Customer Service Lesson
A simple question asked on two continents revealed a Customer Service lesson about professionalism, service, and being human.
When Clothes Changed the Service
Clothing influenced how airline staff treated passengers, revealing service bias that scores alone would never surface.
Want to Get Better at Writing? Start With Your Emails
Everyday email writing is an opportunity to develop a more effective writing voice.
I Can Hear Your Voice: Let Your Writing Sound Like You
A reminder that email writing tone of voice determines whether people hear your best self — or something you didn’t intend — in your words.
Customer Service Email Writing Tips
Clear email writing improves Customer experience when you design messages to be easy to read, sound human, and respond to both tone and content.
Email Writing Tips for Better Customer Experience: The Ritz-Carlton, Santa Barbara
A case study showing how thoughtful email writing can strengthen service recovery — and how scripted, impersonal replies can erode Customer trust.
Designing, Leading & Improving Service
From Compliance to Connection: Why Rules Alone Don’t Create Great CX
Why compliance standards alone don’t create great conversations — and what it takes to move from following rules to connecting with Customers.
What Makes a Luxury Conversation in a Contact Center?
How vision, materials and artisanship combine to create a luxury conversation.
The Customer Service Test I’d Give to a Customer Service Trainer
A practical way to evaluate a Customer Service Trainer by testing how well they analyze real conversations.
Lions, Tigers, and Bears: Navigating Customer Service Challenges
Explore three common challenges Contact Center leaders face — unclear visions, handling abusive behaviour, and over-reliance on industry standards.
How to Be A Better Customer Service Manager
Why better Customer Service management requires more than keeping operations running and meeting standards.
Why Your Call Quality Doesn’t Deliver on Customer Experience
Why strong Quality scores don’t necessarily mean Customers are experiencing great conversations.
When 100% Still Fails the Customer: A Mystery Shopper Lesson
Not everything that can be counted counts — an important lesson about how scores don’t tell the whole story.
What If You Did Sentiment Analysis on Your Own Company?
Apply Customer email standards to internal communications — that’s when people discover for themselves how internal communications need to improve.
That Won’t Work for Our Customers: A Common Mistake in Service Design
A practical lesson on why rejecting a service approach based on one behaviour is a common design mistake.
Thank You for Reading
I regularly share stories, strategies, and insights from our work across Contact Centers, Customer Service, and Customer Experience.
Feel free to get in touch anytime, or explore more of our work below.
Daniel Ord
[email protected]
www.omnitouchinternational.com
