SOP 144 — Hold support to five service standards and grade each rep

1. Why service gets a standard

As a company scales, delivery is often one of the first things to break. In one practice here, this framework is handed to the customer support reps, and it sets a standard for delivery. The goal is to make delivery better than it was when the company was smaller. If your customer-results scores are poor, this is for you.

The finding offered as the reason: a study found that customers are more likely to leave because of bad service than because of price or product.

What good service does. Delivering high-quality customer service is called crucial because it builds trust and loyalty, sets you apart from competitors and improves the brand's reputation.
Why it keeps customers. Showing customers that you care, that you listen and that you resolve their issues quickly creates a positive experience. That experience keeps them satisfied and encourages them to stay with you and to refer their friends.
Strengthen or weaken. Every single interaction either strengthens or weakens the brand. The framework is a tool for making sure every touch you make with a customer moves you forward, not backward.

2. The five standards

The service approach is built around five key standards. In one practice here, the same framework is used with its own teams. Take it, pass it on to your team, and brainstorm together how you will put it in place as a team.

The standards, in the order the definitions list them:

Concern. Show concern for the customer's well-being, feelings and circumstances.
Courtesy. Treat customers with the utmost respect and professionalism.
One and done. Resolve the issue, and any dependencies, the first time, every time. The saying that goes with it: no leftovers in customer service.
Educate and empower. Teach customers the why, and equip them to know what to do the next time an issue comes up.
Timeliness. Customers have little patience. The aim is for customers to be impressed by your speed, not just satisfied with it.

The order changes after this list. The moves in section 4, and the survey in section 5, take the standards in a second order: concern, courtesy, educate and empower, one and done, timeliness. This page keeps both orders as they are given.

3. Train first, then measure

To evaluate your customer service reps, use the five standards as the framework you train your team on. Once the team is trained on it, each interaction can be assessed by how well the rep meets the five.

First, learn the framework and how to apply it tactically (section 4). The next step covers how to measure whether you are tracking toward success or not (section 5).

4. The moves under each star

Each standard is taught as a star with its own moves. The quoted lines are samples of what a rep says or writes. In them, [customer's name] and [your business] are placeholders, and (the issue) stands for whatever the customer came in with.

Concern: let customers know you care

Thank the customer for reaching out, and personalize the contact. "Hi [customer's name], thanks for reaching out to [your business]."
Give reassurance. "No need to worry. I'm more than happy to help you get (the issue) resolved today!"
Verify the issue, so you have it right. "I understand you're having trouble with (the issue). Is that right?"
At the end, verify that a resolution was reached. "Today I helped you with (the issue) by (the steps you took to resolve it). Has that fully resolved the issues and questions you had today?"

Courtesy: listen to your customers

Listen actively.
- Rephrase what the customer said, to make sure you understand it completely. "So it sounds like you're upset because the onboarding email said you'd get a call within 48 hours, and that didn't happen. Is that right?"
- Ask probing questions to find the root issue. "It looks like you signed up with one email address and contacted support from another. Which one would you like notifications sent to?" "Would you rather reschedule the call, or talk on the phone to work out a better course of action?"
Keep the conversation personable, and build rapport.
- Call the customer by name.
- Ask how their day is going.
- Use small talk and a more casual tone to build rapport.
Use a polite, professional tone.
- Say please when you ask for more information. "[Customer's name], would you mind sending me the email you signed up with, please?"
- Say thank you when the information arrives. "[Customer's name], thank you so much for sending that over."
- Acknowledge it when they thank you. "I really appreciate that feedback. It means a lot to hear."

Educate and empower: use every resource to educate and empower customers

Answer the customer. Give them what they want, a solution or an answer, first and foremost. "Hi [customer's name]! Here are the phone number and email you signed up with."
Show how you solved the problem or found the answer. Show the customer where you found the answer you are giving them, and how. "To make it easy next time, here's a link that shows where to find this, so you won't have to wait for me!"
Empower the customer from here on. Teach or explain what caused the issue, and show them how to avoid it in future. "Just so you know, this didn't reach your email because you entered this other address on the second intake form. If you'd like to keep using the email we're writing on now, go ahead and sign up for webinars with it, and the emails will go there!"

One and done: resolve it the first time, and stop it coming back

Verify that the issue was resolved. Summarize the steps taken to resolve it, and make sure the same issue will not repeat itself. "Thanks for your patience, [customer's name]! To sum up: we've switched your notifications to this email, so they all come here. To stop this happening again, I'll remove the other email from our database."
Educate the customer. "If it happens again, you can either ask me again or go here to update the email."
Offer more help. Before you wrap up, make sure there are no other questions or issues they would like help with. "That's all taken care of, [customer's name]. Is there anything else I can help you with today?"

Timeliness: interact with customers and resolve their issues as soon as you can

Respond to the inquiry right away, even if you cannot respond within that moment. "Morning, [customer's name]! I'll be with you in two moments, so I can make sure you have my undivided attention."
Resolve that issue before you open another. The aim is undivided attention on one inquiry at a time, so that each is resolved properly, and on time.

5. Grade each rep with a customer survey

If you simply deploy the standards without measuring how well they work, the warning is that you will fail. To know whether the standards are being upheld, you have to ask your customers.

When. The easiest way given is to send the survey below to customers after each interaction.
How long. The survey is described as a total of 5 questions, each rated on a scale of 1 to 5, so it should take 60 seconds if not less to fill out.
How to send it. The suggestion is to plug it into your email follow-up, your CRM, your customer-service platform, or whatever platform you use to build automations. It carries a disclaimer: it is a suggestion only, and which tool to use is not covered on this page.

Item	What the customer is asked	What the 1-to-5 rating is based on
Concern	Did the rep show empathy and real care for your needs? Did they acknowledge your feelings and show they understood the issue?	How well the rep showed concern and empathy
Courtesy	Was the rep polite, respectful and professional throughout? Did they listen actively?	Politeness, professionalism and active listening
Educate and empower	Did the rep give accurate, helpful information and guidance? Did they use the resources available to empower you with knowledge or solutions?	The quality of the information shared, and the rep's ability to empower you to make an informed decision
One and done	Was your issue resolved in a single interaction, or was more follow-up needed? Did the rep take the steps needed to solve the problem completely?	How effectively the rep resolved the issue in the first contact
Timeliness	How quickly was your issue resolved? Was it resolved within the expected timeframe?	The speed of resolution
Five-star service	Overall, did the rep deliver a five-star experience? Was every aspect of the service (concern, courtesy, knowledge, efficiency and timeliness) carried out to the highest standard?	An overall rating, based on the combined performance across all the standards

About the table:

Five questions, and one more item. The survey is described as a total of 5 questions, yet it holds an item for each of the five standards and then an overall five-star item as well. Each item is itself a pair of questions with one rating. One reading: the 5 are the items for the five standards, and the overall item is an extra. The other: the count of 5 is wrong. This page does not settle which reading is right.
Labels and names. The items for concern, courtesy, and educate and empower are headed "question"; those for one and done, timeliness and the overall rating are headed "criteria". The overall item names the aspects as concern, courtesy, knowledge, efficiency and timeliness. Three of those (concern, courtesy and timeliness) are standards' names; knowledge and efficiency are not. The page does not map one list onto the other.

6. What this page does not decide for you

Whether the overall five-star item is one of the 5 questions. This page does not settle which reading is right.
Which order the standards go in. The definitions list one order and the moves and survey another (section 2). Not established on this page.
What rating counts as meeting a standard. This page gives no figure for a passing rating.
What to do with a rep whose ratings are low. Not established on this page.
How a rep's ratings are gathered up or reviewed over time. Not established on this page.
The expected timeframe in the timeliness item. This page gives no figure for the expected timeframe. The 48 hours in the courtesy sample is what an onboarding email promised that customer; it is not given as the expected timeframe.
How long "two moments" is. Not established on this page.

7. The checklist

Star	Its standard	The moves
Concern	Concern for the customer's well-being, feelings and circumstances	Thank and personalize; reassure; verify the issue; at the end, verify it was resolved
Courtesy	The utmost respect and professionalism	Listen actively (rephrase; probe for the root issue); build rapport (their name, their day, small talk); polite tone (please, thank you, acknowledge thanks)
Educate and empower	Teach the why; equip them for next time	Answer first; show where and how you found it; explain the cause and how to avoid it
One and done	Resolved the first time, every time, with no leftovers	Summarize the fix and prevent a repeat; tell them what to do if it recurs; offer more help
Timeliness	Speed that impresses, not just satisfies	Respond immediately, even if you cannot respond within that moment; one inquiry at a time
Survey	Sent to customers after each interaction (the easiest way given)	An item for each standard plus an overall item (called 5 questions), each rated 1 to 5; 60 seconds if not less

8. What this page does not cover

When a customer says they want to leave, the call to run is SOP 132 — Run the cancellation call. Reviewing a service call together with sales, marketing and customer success is SOP 135 — Run the cross-department call review. How a team communicates inside the business is SOP 136 — Grade a team's communication and raise its weakest part.

Staffing a support team and setting response-time targets are not covered on this page.