Script - Equip Retail

This post is an essay by Natalie Mitchell, a student in an undergraduate class 'Managing Services' on scripting at Equip, a retail outlet selling mainly jewelry. Thanks to Natalie for permission to publish her essay on this blog. Natalie's essay provides a good example of writing that uses her own experience in combination with service management theory to  provide some reflections on a service management topic.   

The essay topic was:   

"Scripting is an important technique for managing service people and the processes they deliver. Using an organisation with which you are familiar critically discuss how scripting is used, and its advantages and disadvantages". Approx 2000 words. Use at least four journal references. 

Scripting is "the precise specification of actions to be taken by service staff, in particular situations" (Clark & Johnston, 2008, p. 251) and is an essential technique for managing in today’s globalized service environment. In a constantly changing competitive environment the use of scripting in mass service organisations ultimately provides consistency, efficiency and security for customers and employees alike (Clark & Johnston, 2008). This essay will first briefly outline the nature of scripting. Second, this essay will examine the organisation ‘Equip’ and investigate how scripting is used. Using real examples of scripting at Equip it is possible to analyse the disadvantages and advantages of this technique. Overall, this essay will argue that scripting is definitely a vital technique for managing service people and processes. However it has to be approached in a manner that does not offset the autonomy of employees and customers to an extent where the service experience is unpleasant. 

The term, ‘script’ is a "commonly used tool to design and manage the encounter between frontline service employees and customers" (Victorino, Verma & Wardell, 2008, p. 36). Scripting is often discussed in the context of understanding the service encounter as a performance, much like in the theatre, and so the script provides the lines and actions that employees (as actors) should play when they interact with a customer (Harris et al. 2003).  Scripting is also defined as a "design tool used to exert a degree of control over employee-customer interactions that may take place where there is no direct supervision or oversight" (Tansik & Smith, 1991, p.36). The use of scripting in service organisations aims to ensure a consistent level of service quality by creating procedures that assist employees in their daily tasks (Clark & Johnston, 2008). These procedures are typically a "predetermined set of specific words, phrases, and gestures, as well as other expectations for the employee to use during each step of the service process" (Victorino et al, p. 6). 

Equip, an Australian-owned organisation, is chain of affordable jewellery stores, targeting females of all ages. EquipYourself Online claim "join our fast growing team ... working in a fun, young team environment’. Many organisations, Equip included, not only hire young workers that can relate to their predominantly young customers, but also hire young people as they are assumed to be more compliant. Scholosser (2002) suggests the word ‘young’ used in the context of a service workforce often indicates an underlying belief that younger staff will be more flexible and conform to specific organisational procedures. This certainly appeared to be the case in the store where I worked, from the period of November 2010 till May 2011.  Equip's employee ages ranged from 17-23, with the store manager being 23. With such a young workforce employees may be more likely to respond to control mechanisms like scripts. 

There are ‘six steps’ to Equip's encounter script which guides the daily operations of its staff. First an employee must greet the customer with an initial smile or verbal welcome within the first thirty seconds upon entering the store. The employee must then initiate conversation with an opening line by asking a question that requires an interactive answer and not a simple 'yes' or 'no' reply. The third step determines the customer's wants and needs. The employee is required to ask whether they wear gold or silver, or ask "what in particular are you looking for today?" The employee must then suggest an ‘add on’: for example the matching bracelet to the necklace they have chosen. The employee should  then encourage the customer to touch the additional piece of jewellery to persuade the customer it is the right thing to do. Touching merchandise increases the likelihood of sales (Underhill, 2008). The fifth step is directly linked to the fourth: the employee must be able to handle any possible objections. This step is explained in more detail below. The final stage of the encounter is closing the sale which involves putting the item(s) through the PlatyPOS transaction system, placing the item in an Equip bag, and fare-welling the customer with a statement that will welcome them back again, such as ‘See you later!’ 

Equip further incorporates scripting for employees by guiding their interactions with customers when   answering the telephone. From my personal experience the phone has to be answered in a specific way with an initial warm welcome, stating the organisation and store location, and who is speaking. In addition to scripting answering the phone, scripting in Equip also extend to telling  employees where they are to be positioned in store, and what to expect and say in each of the areas they are responsible for. During the busiest time of the shopping season, primarily the Christmas period, an employee will stand at the front of the store and ask every customer possible that is leaving to open their bag to be checked. It is the organisation’s policy that the customer has a right to decline a bag check and that the employee must not physically touch the customer’s bag. 

Equip is successful in that they have avoided heavy amounts of scripting in a rather customised service delivery. Although guidelines are specific employees may deviate from the scripted ‘six steps’ if needed in order to please and meet the customers’ expectations. This stance towards scripting is encouraged by  management. Thus, scripting is not approached in a way that offsets the autonomy of employees and customers to the extent where the service experience is unpleasant. This plays to Equips advantage as customers tend to take a dim view of heavy scripting. Employees themselves take pride in their ability to create a positive, smooth delivery service, meeting and exceeding customer’s expectations and using their discretion when needed to respond to customers mood, body language and requirements (Chase & Dasu, 2001). 

Scripting is incorporated into Equips’ operations due to the vast advantages for their employees, customers and the organisation as a whole. With a clear set of rules and guidelines in place, employees are able to work more effectively as they have a clear understanding of their responsibilities and role (Johnston & Clark, 2008). Consequently a consistent, smooth work flow is generally established (Dilworth, 1986). This creates an environment with minimal stress and a "sense of security to behaviour" (Johnston & Clark, 2008, p. 251) for both the customer and the employee. Employees at Equip benefit from scripting as they can rely on the content of the ‘six steps’ in a service encounter to know exactly what to say, and in what manner they should approach each customer. Thus scripting is ideal for those employees who do not necessarily find it natural to strike up a conversation with an unknown customer. The employee's overall anxiety is reduced.   In turn, this set of scripting guidelines followed by Equip employees means customers can relax because they understand the rules by which the encounter will be played out, especially if they are repeat customers. Customers typically expect an opening line after the initial ‘warm welcome’ during the service encounter. Thus, customers anticipate the type of question that will be asked and this reduces the overall pressure they may feel as there "exists a good understanding of what will happen and what is required of the customer at each stage" (Johnston & Clark, 2008, p. 253). As Chase and Dasu (2001, p. 84) state "ultimately, only one thing matters in a service encounter—the customer’s perceptions of what occurred". 

Further, according to Tansik and Smith’s (2000) ‘functions for using scripting’, a main advantage of this technique is being able to accurately diagnose customers’ needs and wants. This is achieved through the ‘six steps’ that employees perform during the encounter stage. After greeting the customer and using an opening line that encourages he/she to ‘open’ up to the employee the employee will then ask about what in particular they are looking for. Equip needs this information in order to operationalize their brand values: they state this purpose in strong language: "…our complete devotion to help customers find that sought after latest accessory is what will continue to make the Equip brand so successful" (Equip Online, 2010). Understanding the customer   means that Equip can maximise their profits and growth. Thus by providing a step in the script that asks customers what they want and need, they provide a service for the customer, but also ensure Equip is enacting their brand purpose. 

Nevertheless it must be acknowledged that there can be a tension between 'service' and 'sales', and it can be difficult to get the balance right between serving the customer and making sure their needs and wants are met, and on-selling to them in a way that they do not find overly aggressive and pushy. Scripting, in the form of the ‘six steps’ used by Equip is clearly a way to control both the employee and the customer. Control is a major purpose of scripting (Tansik & Smith, 2000). Equip employees who base their interactions on the ‘six steps’ are advantaged if they use the steps along with an upbeat personality to encourage and subconsciously manipulate customers into purchasing jewelry item(s) the customer believes they ‘need’. Using an opening line such as "what a nice dress you have, where did you get it from?" ideally aims to initiate a positive relationship between the employee and customer. Therefore, this increases the chance that the customer will ‘add on’ to the jewelry they have already chosen, or make the customer more inclined to purchase at all. Employees’ that successfully achieve target objections, which means having  more than 45% multi sales, are rewarded with material goods, such as movie tickets and body wash. This practice encourages employees to add-on sales. However, employees can only succeed with multi sales if they create a positive and enjoyable service experience for the customer, and if their interactions do not feel false and inauthentic (Ashforth & Tomiuk, 2000). Employees can use the script to enhance the customer's experience and this adds value for them, which increases the profit that Equip can make, and can lead to rewards for the employee. Although some people  may see the script as requiring 'hard selling' for employees it can be very rewarding to use the script, coupled with knowledge of 'what looks good with what', to enhance the appearance of the customer, and generate sales. 

Another positive aspect of the way that employees can use a script to their advantage is through using Step Five well; the step involving service recovery. Step Five requires the employee to handle any objections effectively. For an example from my own personal experience, a customer wanted an exchange for the same handbag in another colour. The Equip store where I worked did not have the colour she wanted in stock, and only Equip at another outlet did. She refused to drive to the other store to do the exchange as asked by the employee. The employee handled the objection by phoning the other store to ask if they could transfer the handbag to our Equip store. This suited the customer and this assistance actually exceeded her expectations. Thus, by positively engaging the customer through service recovery the customer, who was more than happy to exchange the item, then also purchased additional items. Therefore, by enacting Step Five well, Equip benefited as this ultimately lead to multiple items being sold. This process helped retain the customer, and so overall the process may provide a higher customer lifetime value resulting in an overall growth in profits (Samson & Daft, 2005). 

Although Equip is growing in profit and claim that their brand’s success is due to their devotion to "help customers find that sought after latest accessory" (Equip Online, 2010) the use of scripting to achieve this is not entirely flawless, and does have its drawbacks if not approached in an appropriate manner. Again, from  my personal experience, mystery shopping, which is regularly used to assess quality at Equip, can backfire and actually cause poor performance. Mystery shoppers might assess an Equip store every 2 months to ‘monitor employees’ adherence to organisational scripts (Scharf, 2003). In one case where a mystery shop was conducted the result sheet was faxed to our Equip store. The report detailed how one identifiable employee had not met the six steps precisely. The mystery shopper had recorded that the employee did not greet them in the first 30 seconds of the store and used an opening line that could not be answered. The employee consequently failed the test with comments of too much deviation from the ‘six steps’. This resulted in the employee adopting a heavier approach to scripting, as she conformed exactly to the criteria of the ‘six steps’. Consequently, the employee’s multi sales dropped below the target of 45%. According to Johnston and Clark (2008) this is likely due to customers’ perception of ‘robot-like behaviour’. Greeting a customer within 30 seconds and initiating the six steps may be viewed as too interrogative, and viewed as ‘going through the motions’ of service delivery without any real sincerity (Lawrence & Weber, 2010). 

Another factor than may  create unintended negative consequences is Equips’ performance objective criteria which sometimes require employees to meet 45% multi sales. Each employee is sometimes given targets for each day depending on the hours they will work. During the busy shopping day periods these are appropriate targets. However, during quiet periods requirements to meet 45% multi sales can act as an organisational pressure for employees, resulting in unnecessary stress, and potentially requiring a more forceful service delivery and therefore a more unpleasant service experience for the customer (and the employee), and a feeling of constant competition between employees to ‘get a sale’. This can lead to poor morale and high staff attrition rates.  

Overall, this essay confirms that scripting is a vital technique for managing service people and processes. By briefly outlining the nature of scripting it is evident that it is indeed used in Equips’ management strategy. The use of specific guidelines for the ‘six steps’, telephone communication and employee positioning within the store portray how this technique is incorporated into Equips’ daily operations. Equip use scripting to create a clear understanding of roles, resulting in a consistent and efficient work flow, and overall reduced stress for  both customer and employee. This organisation further benefits from the technique through accurately diagnosing customers’ needs and wants and controlling the customer to an extent. Employees can reap rewards for high productivity and customers can experience a pleasurable service delivery, meaning  Equip  can maximise their profits. It is evident that scripting, used moderately and with common sense, is useful, especially  if managers  allow employees to deviate if necessary in order to maximise customer satisfaction. Generally, at Equip in my experience, scripting does not offset the autonomy of either the customer or employee to the extent where the service experience is unpleasant. Sensible approaches to scripting can be beneficial and Equip is an example of a successful organisation that has benefited from the use of scripting. 

References

Ashforth, B. & Tomiuk, M. (2000). Emotional labour and authenticity: Views from service agents. In S. Fineman (ed.) Emotion in organizations, London: Sage: pp. 184 — 203.

Chase, R. B. & Dasu, S. (2001) Want to perfect your company’s service? Use behavioral science, Harvard Business Review, June, pp 79-84.

Dilworth, J. B. (1986) Production and operations management, (3rd ed.). New York: Random House 

EquipYourself Online. (2011) Work at Equip. Retrieved September 21, 2011, from http://www.equipyourself.com.au/equip_careers/positions.php

Harris, R., Harris, K., and Baron, S. (2003). Theatrical service experiences: Dramatic script development with employees. International Journal of Service Industry Management, 14 (2): 184-199.

Johnston, R. & Clark, G. (2008) Service operations management: Improving service delivery (3rd ed.). Essex: Pearson 

Lawrence, A. & Weber, J. (2010) Business and society: Stakeholders, ethics, public policy. New York: McGraw- Hill 

Samson, D. A. & Daft, R. L. (2005) Management (2nd ed.). Southbank, Victoria: Thomson. 

Scharf, A. (2003). 'Scripted talk'. From “Welcome to McDonalds” to “Paper or plastic?”: Employers control the speech of service workers. Dollars and sense: The Magazine of Economic Justice. Retrieved on September 20, 2011, from http://www.dollarsandsense.org/archives/2003/0903scharf.html

Scholosser, E. (2002). Fast food nation: The dark side of the all-American meal.  New York: Houghton Mifflin. 

Tansik, D. A. & Smith, L. S (2000) Dimensions of job scripting in service organisations, International Journal of Service Industry Management, 2 (1): 35-49.

Victorino, L. Verma, R. & Wardell, D. G. (2008) Service scripting: A customer’s perspective of quality and performance. Cornell Hospitality Report, 20 (8), 1-17. 

Underhill, P. (2008). The science of shopping. Why we buy. Simon and Schuster: New York.