How can companies gamify customer service and customer experience without creating winners and losers? 

Answer: Companies can gamify customer service by having employees compete against themselves, not against others, which builds CX awareness, creates better habits, strengthens the company culture, and delivers a better customer experience.

The inspiration for this article came from playing golf this past weekend. It wasn’t that I was better or worse than the guys I was playing with. But I was better than the last time I played. That felt like a win. 

That made me think about how some companies use gamification in customer service. Many companies have created a customer service game, similar to running a sales contest with rankings and leaderboards. That means there are winners and losers, and that can demotivate the majority of employees who aren’t at the top of the list.   

But what if gamifying customer service wasn’t about competition, but instead, about personal performance? What if, instead of competing against others, every employee, whether they are on the phone, the sales floor, or supporting their internal customer (a colleague or fellow employee), simply focused on getting better with every interaction? Instead of competing against others, you compete against yourself. 

I firmly believe that customer service is common sense. My annual customer service research found that the No. 1 experience customers want is a kind and helpful employee. That’s all about attitude. And once you know you’re capable of the proper attitude, it becomes about awareness. Are you aware, in the moment, of how you’re treating the customer?  

This is where the game begins.  

As in golf, I recommend a personal scoring system. After an interaction with a customer or fellow employee, you score yourself on a scale of 1-5 in the following areas: 

  1. Attitude: Was I positive, engaged, and present? 
  1. Ease of Experience: Being easy and convenient is a powerful experience, so did I make this simple and frictionless? 
  1. Outcome: Did I solve the problem, respond to the request, or meet the need? (Remember, customer service isn’t always about solving a problem.) 
  1. The Finish: Did I end strong and leave the customer feeling confident and appreciated?   
  1. The Bonus: This is where culture comes in. For every interaction you have, you must also notice a colleague delivering an amazing experience. Do this, and you can get an extra five points, but only after you acknowledge them with a compliment and tell them why they deserve it.  

A perfect score is 25, which would mean that you scored yourself a 5 in the first four areas and recognized someone else doing a great job. But don’t worry about perfection. Be honest about your score. That’s where the learning happens, and habits are formed. You’re not playing against others. You’re playing against yourself, and being aware in this interaction will help improve the next one.  

Leaders, managers, and supervisors should support their team with individual feedback and team recognition. There are a number of benefits, and here are three of the obvious ones: 

  1. When everyone is focused on creating great experiences, it positively impacts the culture. 
  1. The more we are aware of creating great experiences, the more it happens naturally and becomes a habit.  
  1. And, when the awareness of creating great experiences is consistent, customers like it, and their response is simple. They say, “I’ll be back!”

Related: What Great Companies Do After Customer Service Fails Determines Customer Loyalty