The Circle

right? Ninety-nine is good. But I can’t help wondering why it wasn’t
     a 100. Let’s look.” He opened up the customer’s survey answers and scanned through.
     “Well, there’s no clear sign that any part of their experience was unsatisfactory.
     Now, most companies would say, Wow, 99 out of 100 points, that’s nearly perfect. And
     I say, exactly: it’s
nearly
perfect, sure. But at the Circle, that missing point nags at us. So let’s see if
     we can get to the bottom of it. Here’s a follow-up that we send out.”
    He showed her another survey, this one shorter, asking the customer what about their
     interaction could have been improved and how. They sent it to the customer.
    Seconds later, the response came back. “All was good. Sorry. Should have given you
     a 100. Thanks!!”
    Jared tapped the screen and gave a thumbs-up to Mae.
    “Okay. Sometimes you might just encounter someone who isn’t really sensitive to the
     metrics. So it’s good to ask them, to make sure you get that clarity. Now we’re back
     to a perfect score. You ready to do your own?”
    “I am.”
    They downloaded another customer query, and Mae scrolled through the boilerplates,
     found the appropriate answer, personalized it, and sent it back. When the survey came
     back, her rating was 100.
    Jared seemed briefly taken aback. “First one you get 100, wow,” he said. “I knew you’d
     be good.” He had lost his footing, but now regained it. “Okay, I think you’re ready
     to take on some more. Now, a couple more things. Let’s turn on your second screen.”
     He turned on a smaller screen to her right. “This one is for intra-office messaging.
     All Circlers send messages out through your main feed, but they appear on the second
     screen. This is to make clear the importance of the messages, and to help you delineate
     which is which. From time to time you’ll see messages from me over here, just checking
     in or with some adjustment or news. Okay?”
    “Got it.”
    “Now, remember to bounce any stumpers to me, and if you need to stop and talk, you
     can shoot me a message, or stop by. I’m just down the hall. I expect you to be in
     touch pretty frequently for the first few weeks, one way or the other. That’s how
     I know you’re learning. So don’t hesitate.”
    “I won’t.”
    “Great. Now, are you ready to get
started
-started?”
    “I am.”
    “Okay. That means I open the chute. And when I release this delugeon you, you’ll have your own queue, and you’ll be inundated for the next two hours,
     till lunch. You ready?”
    Mae felt she was. “I am.”
    “Are you sure? Okay then.”
    He activated her account, gave her a mock-salute, and left. The chute opened, and
     in the first twelve minutes, she answered four requests, her score at 96. She was
     sweating heavily, but the rush was electric.
    A message from Jared appeared on her second screen.
Great so far! Let’s see if we can get that up to 97 soon
.
    I will!
she wrote.
    And send follow-ups to the sub-100s
.
    Okay
, she wrote.
    She sent out seven follow-ups, and three customers adjusted their scores to 100. She
     answered another ten questions by 11:45. Now her aggregate was 98.
    Another message appeared on her second screen, this one from Dan.
Fantastic work, Mae! How you feeling?
    Mae was astonished. A team leader who checked in with you, and so kindly, on the first
     day?
    Fine. Thanks!
she wrote back, and brought up the next customer request.
    Another message from Jared appeared below the first.
    Anything I can do? Questions I can answer?
    No thanks!
she wrote.
I’m all set for now. Thanks, Jared!
She returned to the first screen. Another message from Jared popped up on the second.
    Remember that I can only help if you tell me how
.
    Thanks again!
she wrote.
    By lunch she had answered thirty-six requests and her score was at 97.
    A message from Jared came through.
Well done! Let’s follow up on any remaining sub-100s
.
    Will do
, she answered, and sent out the follow-ups to those she hadn’t already handled. She
     brought a few 98s to 100 and then saw a message from Dan:
Great work, Mae!
    Seconds later, a second-screen message, this one from Annie, appeared below Dan’s:
Dan says you’re kicking ass. That’s my girl!
    And then a message told her she’d been mentioned on Zing. She clicked over to read
     it. It was written by Annie.
Newbie Mae is kicking ass!
She’d sent it out to the rest of the Circle campus—10,041 people.
    The zing