I recently had to contact technical support. My external hard drive was failing, and I wanted to recover the files.

The rep clearly had to follow a script. Unfortunately, none of his scripted troubleshooting steps fixed the issue.

Then, it got awkward.

He told me that he was willing to "delight me" by offering free access to the company's file recovery software.

"Delight" was an intentionally chosen word, and not by the rep. It was clear somebody in management picked that word. Someone who had never spoken to a customer.

We both laughed a bit, sensing the awkwardness. I good-naturedly told the rep that I would be delighted if the software actually helped me recover the files.

I sensed the rep wanted to say more, but he couldn't.

Saddling your employees with scripts like this is a terrible idea, though you might be scared to give them more independence. What if they say or do the wrong thing?

Here's how to make the transition with confidence.

Why are customer service scripts a bad idea?

There are many reasons to avoid rigid scripts. Here are three big ones.

First, scripts are an obstacle to building rapport. That's the feeling customers get when they like and trust you. It's hard to create that feeling when a script gets in the way.

• Customer: "Hi, my name is Alicia. How are you today?"

• Agent (sticking with the script): "May I please have your customer id number?"

Scripts are also a roadblock to listening.

• Customer: "I've already rebooted my machine."

• Agent (sticking to the script): "Please reboot your machine."

A third issue is scripts can be downright silly. 

I once purchased a pack of chewing gum at the grocery store. The cashier dutifully stuck the script that required her to offer carryout assistance to every customer. "Would you like help out with that?" she asked.

What can you give your employees instead of scripts?

Scripts are a relic of the transactional customer service era, where we trained employees to act like robots and expected all customer interactions to be the same.

It's time to make the leap to a more visionary form of customer service.

That starts with a customer experience vision. You can't anticipate every conceivable situation with a script, so a vision gives your employees a compass that always points them in the right direction.

The next step is to give your employees broad service guidelines that fit with the vision. This can help you trim a 37-step service process down to just a few broad guidelines or service standards.

Here's a sample set of guidelines:

1. Welcome each customer.

2. Identify their needs.

3. Efficiently serve each customer.

4. Look for additional opportunities to serve.

This frees employees to be themselves while focusing on their customers. It also allows employees to adapt their approach to each individual customer's needs.

LinkedIn Learning subscribers can learn more about creating guidelines or service standards from this short video. 

Your company might also have a brand style guide that shows employees how to communicate using a consistent brand voice. It's a good idea to provide your team with training on how to do that.

LinkedIn Learning subscribers can learn more from this short video from customer service writing expert, Leslie O'Flahavan.

Finally, consider giving your team some training to supplement their skills. For instance, you can help your employees uncover customer needs more efficiently with with listening skills training.

How can you prevent employees from saying the wrong thing?

The short version is you can't prevent the occasional misstatement, but it's less likely than you might think. And there are a lot of benefits to allowing your employees to sound and act like real humans.

A few of my extended family members recently gathered at a restaurant. My nephew asked about a particular item and our server quickly advised against ordering it.

"It's craptastic," she explained.

That exchange might send shivers down the spine of any manager, unless you happened to be watching the server's customers. We all laughed at her joke, while appreciating her honesty.

Our server had already established rapport with us, and used good judgment on what to say. This wasn't a random pet phrase that she unleashed on customers willy-nilly.

She was also far from disgruntled. Our server clearly liked the food and enthusiastically made several other suggestions that she said were her favorites.

The rest of our meal was filled with similar exchanges. Our server was attentive, helpful, and a lot of fun. All our meals were terrific, just as she promised, and we had a great experience.

There's no way my family would have had that much fun if our server was required to stick to a script for the entire interaction.

Conclusion

Stop being afraid.

Make the leap from transactional interactions to visionary service. Trust yourself to hire good people and then trust those people to take care of your customers.

Yes, it takes a little extra work in the beginning to ensure your team is well-trained. That extra work will quickly pay off when your employees consistently deliver great customer service.