Customer Service Excellence is a flexible and easily customizable program that looks at customer service from several perspectives. Typically, a Customer Service Excellence initiative includes some upfront data gathering and feedback to the management staff regarding what’s currently helping and getting in the way of customer service excellence/customer satisfaction. This is frequently done through focus groups but may be done in other ways as well.
Issues surfaced through data gathering are reviewed by the management team and appropriate action plans are developed to be carried out with or without assistance from JH&A (as desired by the organization).
Action plans for improving service do typically include (but are not limited to) development of a customized Customer Service Excellence training program. A number of core topics typically form the foundation of the program but topics may be added, deleted, combined, etc. Industry and company specific circumstances determine the remaining content (nature of skill practices, specific customer service protocols to be developed or emphasized, etc.)
Training is usually targeted at front-line employees from various parts of the organization, but also frequently involves/includes management staff as well.
Sample Training Components of a Customer Service Excellence Initiative
- Customer Service as a Competitive Advantage
- What Makes for Excellence in Customer Service (includes techniques for and typically development of organizational standards for Ensuring Positive Moments of Impression throughout the Service Cycle)
- Preventing and Managing Conflicts with Customers and Throughout the Internal Chain of Service (SOCIAL STYLE Awareness and Versatility Skills applied to Internal and External Customer Service)
- Handling Difficult and Demanding Situations
Additional customizable programs available:
- Interviewing and Selection (plus Effective OnBoarding) with a focus on Customer Service Excellence
- Performance Management and Coaching to support Customer Service Excellence
- Customer-Focused Problem Solving and Process Improvement
- Building Teamwork and Commitment to support Customer Service Excellence
- Preventing and Managing Service Provider Stress Through Effective Time Management
Generally speaking, as part of training, participants will learn the following:
- The importance of customer service and customer satisfaction to YOUR COMPANY
- The important role they play in customer satisfaction/retention
- How to establish (and how to avoid destroying) rapport with customers
- How to gather information to understand a customer’s situation
- How to provide effective explanations to customers
- How to build a strong Service Chain
- How to recognize and adapt to different styles of customers (external or internal)
- How to effectively problem solve customer issues by taking a collaborative (interest-based) approach to problem solving (i.e., using techniques of principled negotiations)
- How to most effectively handle irate/upset customers
- Self-management skills including effective time/stress management
- How to ensure critical information from customers gets communicated appropriately within the organization so actions get taken to prevent recurrence of customer issues