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.