{"id":1757,"date":"2018-03-28T11:24:56","date_gmt":"2018-03-28T18:24:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/b-spoke.net\/?p=1757"},"modified":"2026-06-29T22:00:29","modified_gmt":"2026-06-29T22:00:29","slug":"balancing-rewards-and-behaviors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thirdactmedia.com\/b-spoke\/2018\/03\/28\/balancing-rewards-and-behaviors\/","title":{"rendered":"Balancing Rewards and Behaviors: A Case Study"},"content":{"rendered":"
A Three Minute Read<\/h6>\n

A few years ago, an audio recording of the \u201cCustomer Service Rep from Hell\u201d was the darling of the internet. A shrieking, belligerent agent refused, for over 15 minutes, to allow a caller to cancel his Comcast service. Mea culpas aplenty were issued, but each statement by Comcast pointedly through the rep under the bus; if there was organizational accountability taken, it hasn\u2019t shown up on Google yet.<\/h3>\n

One such \u201capology<\/a>\u201d:<\/h3>\n

The way in which our representative communicated with [the (former) customer] is unacceptable and not consistent with how we train our customer service representatives\u2026 we are using this very unfortunate experience to reinforce how important it is to always treat our customers with the utmost respect.<\/h3>\n

 <\/p>\n

Applying What I Learned from George Carlin<\/span><\/a>…<\/h4>\n

Sure, that may not be how they train<\/u> their reps, but it is certainly what they both expect and accept. \"\"<\/a>Agents are measured on customer retention \u2013 if they \u201callow\u201d someone to cancel, they are grilled by their supervisors. If they convince a caller to not cancel service, they are praised. Inasmuch as shrieking at customers is \u201cunacceptable\u201d, allowing them to take their business elsewhere is even more acceptable.<\/p>\n

Yelling at a customer service rep is as effective as yelling at your breakfast cereal, and it certainly is no punishment.<\/p>\n

The calculus: Risk getting snapped at by a remote voice on the phone (likely never encountered again), or risk getting on the boss\u2019s bad side \u2013 or worse? Hell, that agent probably gets a high five when he gets screamed at and still retains the customer. It\u2019s worth it for the agent because that\u2019s the way the system is rigged.<\/p>\n

Actions speak louder than words \u2013 regardless of how much an organization talks about priorities (e.g., customer service), for the individual employee it comes down to WIFM: What\u2019s In It for Me?<\/p>\n

Using the Variables to Map Current State<\/h4>\n

We want to pinpoint both the desired <\/em>and the undesired <\/em>behaviors, and start thinking about how we want the environment to reward (or repel) those behaviors.<\/p>\n

\"\"The desired behavior is that the agent convinces the customer to maintain his subscription. The undesired behavior is that the agent lets the subscriber cancel. (Note here that the \u201cdesired\u201d and \u201cundesired\u201d are not simply opposites of each other, that is \u201che does one thing\u201d\/\u201dhe doesn\u2019t do it\u201d).<\/p>\n