Can

Better
Grammar
Improve
Customer Service?
As customer interactions move online, agents might need to
brush up on their misplaced modifiers • BY PAUL KORZENIOWSKI
T
wo decades ago, technology was just
beginning to dramatically reshape the
customer experience landscape. Call
center volumes were starting to grow,
and businesses naturally wanted to
find ways to keep costs from spiral-
ing too far out of control. Firms first
started experimenting with interactive voice
response (IVR) systems, which automated part
of the process. A new way of connecting comput-
ers, the Internet, was also taking shape, making it
possible to replace expensive domestic call center
agents with less costly foreign employees.
Now technology is once again changing how
customers and companies interact, but the focus
has shifted away from lowering costs toward
improving the customer experience, and the main
way that companies are doing that is by expanding
the number of channels that customers can use to
contact them. While the majority of consumers
still use the phone for critical issues, interest in
and use of other channels for customer service is
growing rapidly. In fact, 43 percent of consumers
plan to email more, 31 percent plan to rely more
on online tools, and 19 percent want to chat more
often, according to a recent study by Zendesk.
For companies, the benefits of offloading inter-
actions from telephone to these other channels
are—or at least could be—immense. If done
properly, such channels reduce call volumes and
costs. Forrester Research found recently that the
typical voice interaction costs $6 to $12 compared
to just $2.50 to $5 for an email exchange. Other
channels are also significantly less expensive than
voice interactions.
But with today’s increasingly complex set of
communication methods, agents require a much
broader set of skills than they did even just a few
years ago. Effective responses to customer inqui-
ries demand that agents have strong writing,
spelling, and grammar skills. These skills could
even be considered critical for modern customer
service agents because what they send out to con-
sumers via email, text message, or chat window is
CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT | MARCH 2017
just one more extension of the brand, according
to Dan Coen, president of Call Center Today, a
consulting firm.
Developing strong writers is becoming an ever
larger priority for contact center managers, but
such work is hard. “Contact center managers are
realizing that for agents, speaking to customers is
easier than writing to them,” says Donna Fluss,
president of DMG Consulting.
The growing number of channels means that
businesses need to develop multiple sets of tools,
and then have rules in place as to how each chan-
nel is handled. “How a firm answers an email
question is different from what is done with Twit-
ter,” Fluss adds.
The same ideology applies to the FAQs, knowl-
edge base articles, blogs, forum posts, and other
electronic messages that agents might be called
upon to compose from time to time. These forms
of communications also reflect on the company
and brand image, and poor spelling and grammar
definitely sends the wrong message. Spelling and
grammar mistakes aren’t likely to go unnoticed,
and when that happens, the potential to erode a
business’s credibility is high. Spell-check features
built into word processing and content manage-
ment programs are helpful, but they aren’t always
completely reliable.
So how do companies make sure their contact
center employees can adequately serve customers
on all of the new text-based channels? First, busi-
nesses must recognize that customer interactions
are evolving and develop a clear strategy about
how to handle the growing number of written
interactions. Next, firms must decide what out-
comes they want from the various channels. Do
they want to lower agent call volumes? Improve
service quality? Increase conversion rates?
Decrease customer churn?
Companies should also recognize that voice
and online interactions are very different and
sometimes agents’ skills and experience are not
in synch with corporate requirements. “Many
agents like to talk but do not like to write,” states
29
 CUSTOMER SERVICE
Leslie O’Flahavan, president of eWrite, a
writing consulting firm.
Equally important is developing lis-
tening skills. Chat and email messages
are often written quickly and with little
editing, so there is bound to be less
context than agents would like to see.
As a result, employees need to develop
the skills to translate a small amount of
information into a complete customer
request. The process begins with reading
critically. Agents must read between the
lines and transform customers’ incom-
plete, often messy writing into a clear set
of objectives.
LEARNING HOW TO CHAT
Enterprises need to put best practices
in place to help agents help customers.
Although chat and email can feel less
personal than an actual conversation,
good questioning during a chat or an
email session can generate the same
positive results. To aid in the process,
service pros need to mix matter-of-fact
“Companies cannot hold one training session
and magically fix their writing shortcomings.”
questions with open-ended responses
that engage customers and uncover the
additional information needed to resolve
the outstanding issues. For instance, a
rep might ask questions like “What result
would you like to see?” and “When do
you need delivery?”
In addition, spelling and grammar
guidelines need to be developed. “I
recently had a client do a specific meet-
ing about cleaning up spelling and writ-
ing skills with agents because it was being
done poorly,” says Call Center Today’s
Coen. “It was hurting the brand.”
Chat, email, text messages, and blogs
are all viewed as less formal than other
forms of writing, but in a corporate con-
text they are still professional exchanges
and should be treated as such. Standard,
formal sentences aren’t necessary in a
fast-paced chat, but proper spelling and
punctuation is a must for clarity in an
email exchange. One quick and easy aid is
30 CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT | MARCH 2017
to provide agents with online spelling and
grammar checking tools and then train
and encourage them to use those tools.
Another way to develop stronger
in-house writing skills is to pair agents
who have strong English writing skills
with those who have problems con-
structing sentences. The less skilled
writers can see correct usage and mimic
those skills.
In some cases, companies hire editors
to read, edit, and ultimately approve all
outgoing communications, so consis-
tent rules are followed, according to Call
Center Today’s Coen.
One noteworthy challenge is com-
munications’ dynamic nature: Rules
governing spelling and grammar change
regularly and quite quickly. Some of the
rules of five, 10, and 20 years ago are no
longer followed as religiously, or are bent
often, creating frustration for individu-
als trying to write well with any kind
of consistency.
Compounding the problem, changes
often are subjective. Dictionary pub-
lishers monitor word usage and then
arbitrarily decide if usage has become
widespread enough to no longer warrant
dismissing a word or phrase as slang.
That’s how words like selfie, binge watch-
ing, bitcoin, and twerking have made it
into the common vernacular in just the
past few years.
In addition to words, other Internet
communication aids, like emoticons, are
also subjective in their usage. Some com-
panies view them as appropriate; others
would be appalled at their use.
In today’s rapidly changing, social
media–driven world, such imprecise
guidelines can be confusing. Generally,
the older the channel, the less likely it is
that people would deem common social
media terms appropriate. eWrite’s O’Fla-
havan sets the formality hierarchy as
letter, email, chat, and SMS (or Twitter).
But ultimately, any rules are subjective,
so each business needs to craft its own set
of writing standards. “Brooks Brothers’
Twitter account sounds much different
than JackThreads’ account,” O’Flaha-
van says. The two firms have distinct
voices that appeal to different types of
consumers.
To develop their own voices, compa-
nies need to focus on big-picture and
small-picture items, O’Flahavan adds.
The big picture revolves around develop-
ing a strong corporate image: to whom
the company is selling and the value it
offers them. The small picture involves
mechanics, like spelling and grammar, to
reinforce that image.
The move to identify and hone their
corporate voices fits with companies’
desires to become less egocentric and
more empathetic. However, expressing
emotions effectively in written commu-
nication, especially new online forums,
can be challenging. Some key phrases can
help show empathy in writing, according
to O’Flahavan. When appropriate, reps
should say the following:
• “You’re right.”
• “I can definitely understand.”
• “I can see your point.”
• “That sounds difficult.”
Another suggestion is to have agents
signal to customers when they need
to wait. In many chats, customers and
agents sometimes must step away to get
information. Good writing makes it clear
to customers when a short wait period is
required or when the agent is waiting for
them. Consequently, agents are encour-
aged to say something along these lines:
“Please give me one moment to check
the status.”
Finally, employees need to concede
when they do not know something and
respond in a way that lets the consumer
know they are working on the prob-
lem. For instance, “Let me check my
knowledge base to see whether there’s
an update that would fix the problem
you’re having” is a suitable response in
such scenarios.
CREATING STRONG WRITERS
While companies are putting new pro-
cesses in place to improve agent writing,
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 CUSTOMER SERVICE

BWC497 Writing Customer-Support

Air Canada Takes Voice Lessons

Messages, focuses on structuring the cus-
tomer-support message for maximum
clarity and effectiveness.

C
orporations today are increasingly recognizing the need to Other training options have emerged.
develop brand voices and to use them consistently across all of Corporate trainers such as ACSI Transla-
their communications channels. That was the challenge that Air tions, Circuit Media, Clear Writing Con-
Canada faced. Though the company has been in existence since 1937, it sultants, Resish & Associates, and The
desperately wanted to change its tune. Executive Writer offer various business
The company has taken a leadership position in the airline industry— writing services and classes. Such pro-
in 2015 it carried more than 41 million passengers to more than 200 grams feature group interactions, devel-
destinations on six continents, employed 30,000 people, and generated opment of training manuals, online tests,
$13.8 billion (Canadian)—but “we had a legacy way of communicating with and video aids.
customers,” admits Vicki Benoit, director of customer care at Air Canada. Once training has been provided, the
In the fall of 2015, the carrier decided it was time to refresh its brand and need for ongoing monitoring is clear.
searched for a third-party writer training firm to help it find its new voice. “Companies cannot hold one training
Many consultants came from the marketing side, but the airline wanted session and magically fix their writing
a firm that specialized in contact center interactions. It ultimately selected shortcomings,” Fluss maintains. “To be
eWrite, which takes a look at companies’ written communications, hones successful, the process requires ongoing
them, and then trains employees in best practices. quality assurance and follow-up.”
Two hundred agents attended one-day training sessions. One benefit The follow-up can take various forms.
of the eWrite program is that trainers use real customer letters and A manager can consistently reinforce the
Facebook posts during the course. “It was unusual seeing our own need for improved writing by, for exam-
writing used for the training,” Benoit says. ple, addressing writing problems during
Air Canada’s communications followed rules of formal written staff meetings. Firms can also provide
English, such as never using the pronoun I. The airline changed that agents with training materials outside
rule and made other adjustments, such as replacing generic apologies of class so that they can study on their
with statements that specifically identify each customer’s individual own. Or they can find ways to recog-
complaints. nize agents who improve their English
In 2016, the carrier held training sessions for employees in five grammar and usage skills, presenting
areas, including claims and customer relations. It plans to roll out the them with plaques, monetary incentives,
training to other departments—such as the contact center, web content or other tokens acknowledging their
development team, and sales—this year. improvements, for example.
Much work remains—not all agents felt comfortable with the For some people, writing well is a skill
changes. But the airline is hoping to gradually prod them away from the that just comes naturally. For others, it
old to the new way of communicating. —P.K. takes a lifetime to develop. As customer
interactions move from the telephone to
the screen, developing strong writers is
the first step is hiring good communica- handle actual interactions during train- a noble goal for contact center manage-
tors. The goal sounds simple, but “not ing because there is no substitute for ment. Luckily, new tools and training are
many of us are good writers,” Fluss says. real-world experiences. emerging so that when they are confronted
Gauging a person’s communication Once on the job, the education pro- with the dilemma of whether the sentence
skills starts during the interview process. cess should continue. Some courses are “Our contact agents needed help with their
Businesses can use role-playing activi- available. eWrite offers such training, as writing so we hired a consultant” needs
ties and see how potential hires would do a number of other companies. The a comma, most contact center agents
respond to a typical chat interaction. Business Writing Center, for example, will know how to respond. (A comma is
Corporations also need to expand offers two contact center–specific writ- needed before the word so.)
their agent training programs. In addi- ing courses. The first course, BWC495
tion to product and voice interaction Basic Writing Skills for Technical Call Paul Korzeniowski is a freelance writer
coaching, they must focus on improv- Center Representatives, focuses on who specializes in technology issues. He
ing employees’ writing skills. Many grammar, writing enough but not too has been covering CRM issues for more
firms are now developing online spell- much, writing concisely, using clear sen- than two decades, is based in Sudbury,
ing and grammar quizzes and tutori- tence structure, and avoiding common Mass., and can be reached at paulkorzen@
als. Trainers recommend that agents business-writing errors. The second, aol.com or on Twitter @PaulKorzeniowski.

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