Achieving Excellent Customer Service

3 days

Introduction

Customers in today‰Ûªs world are more discerning, more demanding and better informed. Buyer behaviour has also changed and along with it customer service expectations. What has not changed is the need to have customers come back to us time and time again. Providing outstanding customer service that makes the customer feel important and valued is so important to the organization‰Ûªs long term success. Providing outstanding customer service often makes the difference between gaining and keeping a customer or losing one. This course offers the tools and techniques to ensure you build and maintain beneficial relationships with your customers. As a result, they become loyal advocates for you and your organization.

Programme Objectives

You will learn how to:

• Provide excellent customer service that achieves results and gets noticed
• Adopt the skills and techniques that routinely deliver positive customer service
• Maximize the value of your customer interactions
• Deal effectively with difficult customers and turn complaints into opportunities
• Contribute to a customer-centric culture and achieve greater personal growth and customer satisfaction
• Demonstrate a positive, confident and professional approach with internal and external customers

Method and Approach

This programme will involve the use of slides, handout material, work manual with all instructor notes and slides, examples of best practice and appropriate video/DVD material. The use of flip-charts, syndicate workshops and reporting back sessions will encourage a fully participative and enjoyable event. Delegates will be encouraged to participate actively in relating previous work experiences.

Who Should Attend

Anyone from any organization who needs to build effective relationships with external and internal customers. This includes help desk, technical support, frontline or support staff. This course will also be of interest to managers and team leaders wishing to coach and develop staff performance toward a customer-focused culture.

Course Content

Day One

Introduction

• It‰Ûª is all about experience
• Defining customer service
• Components of excellent customer service
• The service profit-chain
• The equation

Why customer service matters

• It‰Ûªs about customer contact in whatever form
• Your personal make up
• What your organization needs
• The importance of HOW
• Customer expectations
• Getting repeat business
• Lifetime value of customers
• The silent complainer
• The company ambassador

Getting the right people

• Five desirable traits
• Maintaining standards
• Benchmaking
• Understanding the big picture

What‰Ûªs different about good service?

• How to delight customers
• Putting customers first
• What you need for good customer service?
• Quality is important
• Maintaining attention to detail
• Delivering great service
• Taking responsibility

Day Two

Customer loyalty

• 4 elements of customer satisfaction
• Language is important
• The power of beginnings and endings
• Thinking like a customer

How to communicate effectively with customers

• Your communications
• What is good communication?
• Listening skills
• Written communication
• Using emails and other forms of e-communication

Turning complaints into opportunities

• Keeping your head out of the sand
• Benefits of complaints
• Understanding the customer‰Ûªs needs
• Removing common causes of complaints
• Handling complaints
• Dealing with angry customers

Day Three

Empowering great customer service

• Everybody plays a role
• The impact of corporate culture
• Internal customers

Measuring customer service

• Setting standards
• Using internal indicators
• Customer satisfaction measurement
• Mystery shopper programmes
• Rewarding team members

Personal action planning

• A sample staff presentation on customer service
• A coaching mentality
• Using what you have learned
• Reviewing and planning
• Overcoming obstacles