Newways’s customer service skills training is specifically designed to develop the participants’ skills and behaviour to offer exceptional customer care. It also empowers participants to provide effective solutions to customer facing problems, when they arise.

Course Objectives

By the end of this one-day course, the participants will have:

• Adopted a consistent, professional style when speaking with customers
• Developed skills in engaging with customers and handling their enquiries effectively
• Listened effectively, asked questions and summarized to respond fully to a customer request
• Identified ways they can add value to customer relationships and exceed expectations
• Practiced how to turn customer service disappointment into a positive experience

Target Audience

This course is ideal for anyone seeking training in customer service and customer care. The majority of delegates attending our customer services courses are in customer facing or customer support roles, who want to develop their customer service skills and behaviour.

We are also experienced at providing in-house tailor-made training courses in customer services, as well as longer term programmes to meet specific organization goals and service standards. Our customer service training is always aligned to the most frequent method of communication used to connect with your customers e.g. face to face, telephone, email.

Course Overview

Module 1: Introduction to Customer Service

• What Is Customer Service?
• What does great service look like and feel like?
• Sharing our own experiences of good and bad service
• Responsibility for customer service
• Stepping into your customers’ shoes
• Developing a Customer-Centric Mindset
• Who Are Your Customers?
• Internal Customers
• External Customers
• When and Where Does Customer Service Take Place?
• The Need For Customer Service - Rewards Penalties
• What Does Customer Service Mean To You?
• Unpleasant Experiences
• Satisfying Experiences
• Developing a Customer Friendly Attitude
• Evaluation
• Excitement is Contagious
• Individual and group exercises facilitated group discussion

Module 2: Customer Service: Communication Skills

• Developing Effective Communication Skills
• Presenting a Professional Image
• Non-verbal Communication Skills
• Body Language
• Key Body Language Aspects
• Physical Distance
• Verbal Communication Skills
• Choice of Words
• Tone of Voice
• The Choice of Words
• May I _ Please _ Thank You _ The Close _ Being Positive _ Tone of Voice _ Inflection _ Energy _ Volume _ Pace

Module 3: Customer Analysis: Knowing your Customer

• Knowing Your Customer  - Customer Expectations
• Assertive Working Style
• Results-Oriented
• Analytical - Details-Oriented
• Amiable - People-Oriented
• Dominant Behavioral Style
• Determining Your Level of Service

Module 4: Calming Upset Customers

• What Makes Customers Upset?
• Avoiding Upsets
• Identifying the nature of customer complaints
• What to Do When You Are Upset?
• What Can You Do to Avoid Upsets?
• Turning disappointment into delight
• 5 Key Steps to Calming Upset customers
• Accurately identify the problem.
• Responding to customer complaints
• Introducing colleagues to resolve customer service issue
• Confirm the Customer’s Value
• Synchronize and Summarize
• Conclude by Affirming the Customer’s Value Again
• Group discussion, presentation, exercise with group review

Module 5: Telephone Customer Service

• Mastering the Telephone
• Answering the Telephone
• A Professional Greeting
• Active Listening
• Putting Callers on Hold
• Recommendations
• Transferring A Call
• Taking A Message _ Voice Mail
• Closing the Call

Module 6: Internet Customer Skills

• The Internet Customer
• E-Mail _ E-mail Communication Guidelines
• Online Chat
• Internet Customer Skills
• Scripted Responses _ Introduction
• Placing a Chat on Hold _ Closing a Chat session
• Websites _ Knowledgebase _ FAQ _ Auto responders _ Customer Online Support

Module 7: Time Management Strategies

• Time Management
• Taking Control of Your Time
• Time Analysis: Task Identification
• Task Analysis
• Personal Suitability
• Efficiency
• Task Analysis
• Task Prioritization
• Relative Importance _ Time-frame _ Time Wasters
• Module 8: Stress Management Strategies
• Stress Management
• What is Stress? _ What Causes Stress?
• Stress Symptoms _ What Can Be Done to Manage or Even Eliminate Stress?
• Do Something That You Love
• Don’t Feel Responsible to Solve Every Situation
• Have A Hobby _ Rest, Take That Vacation _ Exercise _ Be Organized
• We All Make Mistakes
• Applying the learning and next steps
• Review of learning and action planning
• Course feedback
• The customer service training will be supported with:
• An optional participant pre-course questionnaire and/or pre-course reading covering customer care