Customer service training tip: Scripted empathy never works

Faith Ocampo Published on May 4, 2016

Scripts may be effective in steering conversations in the right direction, but they rarely work for communicating empathy.

call center agent reading customer support script

Empathy, long been regarded as an essential component of successful customer support, makes interactions more meaningful. Taking it out of the equation is like punching a gaping hole right through otherwise productive dialogs. Without it, brands are stripped of the opportunity to prove themselves trustworthy.

On the contrary, when agents are able to see a situation through the customer’s eyes, everything changes—from the way they phrase messages to the tone and language they adopt, and the techniques they use to address problems.

Empathic agents tactfully resolve the issues at hand and, at the same time, uplift a person’s overall experience by channeling positive feelings.

The bad news is that empathy is also one of the hardest communication skills to teach. To make up for this, most call centers resort to scripting. Indeed, predetermined phrases (such as, “I’m sorry for the inconvenience” and “I understand how you feel”) help agents emulate the kind of response that customers expect. However, although scripts are effective for steering conversations, they almost never work for communicating genuine empathy.

Encouraging agents to be supportive

smiling call center agent looking at computer screen

Your customer service training needs to shift its focus. One way to do this is to spotlight deep listening, a soft skill characterized by being supportive and generous.

Not to be confused with active listening, which mainly involves the use of logic to solve problems, deep listening occurs when you listen to customers as though they’re your friends. In a call center context, this means that agents are prepared to trust a customer and withhold judgment. Doing so would allow them to fairly evaluate a situation using both logic and emotion.

Taking the customer’s perspective

Agents must learn to shift back and forth between two perspectives: one is as a customer support representative and, the other, as a consumer. You may think this comes naturally, but in reality, it doesn’t happen as often as you’d like.

call center agent in pink reading sheet of paper

What hinders agents from thinking like a customer is their overdependence on scripts, and this is something that a structured call center training often promotes. The solution is to allow your employees to be inventive, to approach customers in their own way, and to make decisions as they see fit.

But aside from allowing agents to be independent, trainers must not forget to emphasize the importance of good customer service in creating a solid company branding. Agents who don’t fully understand how their individual performance affects a company’s reputation tend to be more insensitive to customers’ feelings.

Staying out of judgment

The purpose of call centers is to assist customers through a process. Ideally, therefore, customer service training must foster open-mindedness. If not, agents come across as condescending and insincere, and these negative emotions get in the way of two core functions: relationship building and problem resolution.

Communicating well

Through a well-designed call center training, you can nurture the fundamental communication skills that allow agents to articulate their messages clearly. Agents must know the right words to use to show that they understand what customers are going through. The messages don’t have to be long or creatively phrased, but they need to reflect sincerity.

Faith is a digital media enthusiast aiming to become an active part of the tech world by sharing her insights. She likes to blog about everything digimarketing, technology, and social media.
Join us on facebook
Open Access BPO 6 days ago
The world is getting smaller, and your customers come from all corners of it!
Partnering with a culturally diverse #CallCenter team isn't just the right thing to do, it's a smart business move.

Learn about the key benefits in our blog:
https://buff.ly/360SqHP

----------
Want a high-value #CustomerExperience for your diverse audience?

Let our multicultural teams help your brand break into international markets without worries.

Contact us today: https://buff.ly/59i7YD6

#WeSpeakYourLanguage
#CX #diversity #inclusion
Open Access BPO 6 days ago
Open Access BPO is kicking off our Pride Week, a dedicated series of events celebrating #PrideMonth. This initiative underscores our commitment to fostering a workplace culture built on #inclusion and #diversity.

Throughout the week, we've planned a series of meaningful activities designed to celebrate the #LGBTQIA+ community. We believe that fostering an environment where every individual feels valued and empowered is crucial for our collective success.

Our dedication to creating a safe and equitable space extends beyond this week, reflecting our ongoing commitment to a more inclusive future for all.

#WeSpeakYourLanguage
#PrideMonth #Pride2025 #UnitedByLove
#OneWithDiversity #PrideMonth2025
Open Access BPO 6 days ago
Open Access BPO is kicking off our Pride Week, a dedicated series of events celebrating #PrideMonth. This initiative underscores our commitment to fostering a workplace culture built on #inclusion and #diversity.

Throughout the week, we've planned a series of meaningful activities designed to celebrate the #LGBTQIA+ community. We believe that fostering an environment where every individual feels valued and empowered is crucial for our collective success.

Our dedication to creating a safe and equitable space extends beyond this week, reflecting our ongoing commitment to a more inclusive future for all.

#WeSpeakYourLanguage
#PrideMonth #Pride2025 #UnitedByLove
#OneWithDiversity #PrideMonth2025
Open Access BPO 7 days ago
Open Access BPO conducted Plant It Forward, a two-part tree-planting initiative, held in Laguna and Davao in May and June 2025.

Volunteers from both activities planted 300 Philippine indigenous trees, which were selected to help maintain the biodiversity in the area.

“This program is more than just planting trees; it’s about cultivating a culture of social responsibility within our organization and demonstrating our commitment to the communities where we operate,” said Joy Sebastian, Global VP at Open Access BPO.

This is only the start. Open Access BPO vows to continue investing in such environmental projects, affirming its core value of creating positive impact.

Read more about the green initiative here: https://buff.ly/HjTlHZC

#WeSpeakYourLanguage
#OABPOPlantItForward
#OABPOcares #IdeaHubOABPO
Open Access BPO 7 days ago
𝐀𝐝𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐞 𝐭𝐨 #𝐂𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐄𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐬 𝐠𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐱𝐭𝐫𝐚 𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐬.
This means transforming basic interactions into meaningful connections.

It's the secret to building strong customer loyalty and driving business success by making customers feel valued and understood.

Dive deeper into what makes a truly value-added #CX and how it can significantly boost #CustomerLoyalty and overall business success: https://buff.ly/8Wxb9gw

——————————
Ready to transform your customer experience? Don't settle for less; elevate your #CX by partnering with a #CallCenter that truly goes the extra mile 24/7.

Learn how our dedicated team can enhance your customer interactions and drive loyalty.
Take the first step towards superior CX today: https://buff.ly/L6dUG5E

#WeSpeakYourLanguage
#CustomerSupport #BPO
Open Access BPO 10 days ago
Reposted from @tdcxgroup

We’ve made yet another bold move.

Just last month, TDCX Group launched Chemin to help the world’s most ambitious companies realize their AI goals — faster, safer, and smarter.

To accelerate our ambition, the Group has acquired SUPA, a cutting-edge data annotation platform known for its agile, gig-powered model and elite talent network.

SUPA will now be part of Chemin, as we make moves to deepen our ability to support everything from training foundational models to safeguarding mission-critical AI systems.

“The future of customer experience is AI-powered, and AI itself runs on increasingly complex, curated data. SUPA brings us the right capabilities and talent frameworks to fuel that future. By embedding SUPA into Chemin, we’re doubling down on our ability to support enterprise and frontier AI labs with world-class data operations,” says Laurent Junique, CEO and Founder, TDCX Group.

As the demand for precision, scalability, and human-in-the-loop intelligence grows, we look forward to delivering the kind of nuanced data interpretation and domain expertise today’s frontier AI requires.

Slide into our inbox — we speak AI.

Tap the 'Press Release' link in our bio for more details.

#CX #Outsourcing #AI #EnabletheFuture