Course Outcomes
This online instructor-led customer service course will:
- Help participants identify service targets.
- Discuss the look and sound of the targets.
- Introduce several frameworks for understanding and managing customer expectations.
- Provide an overview of communication preferences.
- Suggest best practices for de-escalating tense situations.
- Offer best practices for delivering great service in person, over the phone, and via email.
Course Overview
Service excellence is a goal that many organizations share, and few achieve without regular training and reinforcement. For organizations that find themselves falling short or companies that want to establish a baseline, Excellence in Customer Service: Meeting the Needs of the Modern Customer is a good starting point.
This instructor-led virtual classroom course is a foundational training program and ideal for people new to a service role and those who have not recently taken part in customer service training. The workshop consists of three online two-hour segments that can be taught consecutively with two one-hour breaks, or we can deliver the program over several days.
Note: We offer a similar onsite customer service training course for groups who prefer in-person training.
Segment One Objectives
At this session’s conclusion, participants should be able to:
- Describe the reasons why service excellence is an important goal.
- Explain why many organizations fail to meet the modern customer’s needs.
- Identify upstream and downstream customers.
- Explain the nine dimensions of exceptional service.
- Identify target customers, target memories, and the value the organization offers.
Segment Modules
- Defining Excellence: Articulating the Experience
- Brand Success: Choices and Chances
- The Modern Customer: What Customers Want
- Nine Service Dimensions: How You’re Measured
Segment Two Objectives
At this session’s conclusion, participants should be able to:
- Explain listening’s importance to service excellence and the various levels of listening.
- Choose service-focused words.
- Use service-oriented body language.
- Adapt to different communication styles.
- Practice de-escalation.
Segment Modules
- Listening: Showing You Understand
- Speaking: Customer-Centric Language
- Nonverbal Communication: Hearing What’s Not Said
- Communication Styles: Four Common Preferences
- Difficult Customers: Handling Challenging Situations
Segment Three Objectives
At this session’s conclusion, participants should be able to:
- Follow best practices for using the telephone to provide excellent service.
- Demonstrate good email etiquette.
- Seek feedback and create systems and targets.
- Apply knowledge to case studies and real-world service interactions.
- Manage service stress.
Segment Modules
- Dial Mastery: Great Phone Calls
- Put It in Writing: Email and Service
- Constant Improvements: Seeking Feedback and Creating Systems
- Case Studies: Show What You Know
- Manage Stress: Holding Together When Things Are Falling Apart
By this program’s conclusion, participants should have an understanding of what service excellence means and tools they can use to deliver a stronger customer experience.