The declined card.Customer service training video.

The card was declined at the checkout, with a queue behind him. Frank is seventy-two, and he's furious by the time he gets through to the bank. Ben has been on the phones for a month.

He knows the procedure. He reads it out: for security reasons, I'll need to verify your identity before I can discuss the account. Frank hears a wall.

Then he moves his money. Ben did everything the course told him. The course never let him hear Frank.

Now picture the course as a story. The wrong way: the procedure first. The right way: Ben says, that's an awful thing to happen at the checkout, let's sort it out now.

Then he checks who Frank is, explains the fraud hold, and lifts it. Same procedure. Different first sentence.

Then it's the learner's turn. A new caller: a café owner whose wages payment is on hold. What do you say first?

Three answers, and the story shows what happens next. That's a story lesson, built to sit inside Rise 360. At Explainer Makers, we've designed e-learning since two thousand and five.

If your training covers the procedure but not the caller, we're happy to talk. Just visit explainermakers.com or send a message on LinkedIn.