Wow. I finally have time to sit down and write. Imagine that. And I have no clue what to write about. Hang with me for a sec: this might go somewhere, and it might not.

I've watched Tom Vander Well's video on mush mouth, and I've noticed far more CSRs have this problem down here than elsewhere. A relaxed posture has something to do with it: I've noticed this more on Fridays than any other day, simply because the dress code is more casual. The more casual the dress code, the more casual the CSR will act at work. One call center I worked in where shorts were allowed on weekends, and jeans/t-shirts every other day, the attitude was so casual that it came across all the time in the tone of the CSRs. I'm probably one of the few people in the call center world that is against casual dress for that very reason: it takes more effort to act and speak professionally when you're dressed casually.

In the South, however, speed has a whole lot to do with mush mouth. People here talk really fast, compared to my upbringing in the Midwest. My grandma used to say, "She got her tongue in front of her eye teeth and couldn't see what she was saying." I find that to be the case here.

Also, people really have to think about their grammar. Using proper grammar presents a more professional attitude. Improper grammar usage has spawned many a "QA Word of the Day" in this blog. I hear so much that I would never say, like "uh huh," "mmm-hmm," and "eaches." Finding shortcuts for proper grammar can have a negative effect on your attitude and the customer's perception of you. If you cannot speak correctly and professionally, the customer will have less confidence in you and how well you can solve their problems.

In the QA world, proper grammar and enunciation makes my job so much more pleasant. It's nice when I don't have to rewind a call because I'm thinking, "What did she say?" or, "Where did that word come from?" If the word can be found in the Urban Dictionary, it has no place in Customer Service.

Monday, I am going to take a stroll through the call center and look at posture. It's honestly not something I have noticed, and it's a great point that Tom has addressed. I'm going to take a closer look at the CSRs who are my habitual mush mouth offenders and compare with the rest of the call center. I'll post my findings on Monday night. It may spark an email to our management team as well. We'll see what happens.