Exceeding Customer Expectations

Exceeding Customer Expectations:
Strengthening Customer Relationships

“Providing Excellent Customer Service”. . . everyone knows what that is supposed to mean. . . in fact much of what is required is simply common sense (it just isn’t always common practice!) What gets in the way? Difficult customers, difficult situations, and even difficult co-workers can hamper our success.

Exceeding Customer Expectations: Strengthening Customer Relationships looks at the many the facets and elements of providing excellent customer service in a business setting and allows participants to review service strategies and learn new tools to put into their service “toolkit.”

Participants emerge from these fun, high-energy sessions renewed, refreshed, and able to handle their day-to-day service challenges with more energy and enthusiasm and less stress and tension.

This customer service training program combines elements of customer service skill development with continuous improvement and team building principles, and the program is easily customizable to meet a client’s specific needs and training objectives.

What Does This Program Offer?

• A flexible format consisting of 8 modules, 3-4-hours each. Each module can “stand alone” or be woven into a comprehensive customer service training program

• A fully-scripted Leader Guide for easy Train-the-Trainer implementation

• Interactive exercises, discussions, games, practices, and case studies

• Use of Wiley’s DiSC Classic Profile®, DiSC ‘People Reading’ Guide, and DiSC Customer Service Action Planner

• Illustrative PowerPoint presentation, video, and audio support

• A team development tool kit to facilitate continuous improvement efforts back on the job

What Makes This Program Unique?

We recommend that managers and employees participate together to acquire service skills, develop departmental service standards, service measures, and service improvement action plans.

We understand that “training is an event but learning is a process.” This program incorporates skill development with TQM and team building principles that can launch an ongoing organization-wide continuous improvement process.

Module 1 Service Awareness:
  • What is Excellent Service and How Do I Provide It?
  • Customer Service Elements – What Works, What Doesn’t
  • “Moments of Truth” and the Service Chain
  • Defining Service Standards – What “Just Has To Be There”
  • Service Attitudes – Every Customer Deserves a Fresh Pair of Ears and Eyes.
Module 2 Service Styles:
  • Different People . . .Different Needs
  • Determining My Service Style
  • Understanding Different People and Different Needs
  • Developing Flexibility and Versatility to Meet Customer Needs
Module 3 Communications and Problem Solving:
  • Improving Service Provider Techniques
  • Active Listening: Insuring Message Sent Is Message Received
  • Professional Telephone Skills and Face-to-Face Interactions
  • Problem Solving: Negotiating Win/Win Solutions to Customer Requests
Module 4 Hostility Management:
  • Dealing with Angry/Upset Customers
  • Handling Angry/Upset Customers: Success Strategies When You Are the “Hostility Manager”
  • Maintaining Composure and Professionalism when “Under Fire”
  • Knowing When to Flex and When to Set Limits
  • Identifying Really Difficult People
  • Ten Difficult Types and How to Deal With Them
  • When You Need to Say “No”
Module 5 Written Communications:
  • Using Email in Customer Service
  • An Understanding of Email – When to Use, When Not
  • Email “Netiquette”
  • Using Email as a New Form of Business Writing
  • Managing the Multitude of Emails
  • Using Email to Enhance Customer Service Efforts
Module 6 Intact Team Work:
  • “Raising the Bar” – Continuous Improvement
  • Identifying Our Customers & Service Partners
  • Developing Our Service Standards and Measurements
  • Identifying Our Team Strengths and Challenges
  • Identifying and Removing Barriers to Giving Good Service
  • Developing Ongoing Continuous Improvement Action Plans
Module 7 Intact Team Work:
  • Building the Team
  • Elements of Successful Team Performance
  • Defining High Performing Teams
  • The Tuckman Team Building Model and Communications Comfort Ladder
  • Crafting our Team Purpose Statement
  • Defining our Team Values and Operating Guidelines
  • Examining Service Team Member Roles – How is the Work Getting Done?
  • Reviewing Team Policies, Procedures, Resources and Knowledge – Is this the Best Way for the Work to Be Done?
  • Team Climate Inventory
  • What Next: Additional Action Plans to Build a Strong Service Team
Module 8 Management Reinforcement:
  • Reinforcing Service Team Performance
  • Supporting Departmental Service Standards
  • Empowering the Service Team – Sharing Power
  • Motivating and Recognizing Superior Service Performance
  • Coaching Service Performance Issues
  • DiSC Behavioral Styles and Coaching Service Performance
  • Putting It All Together: The Manager’s Role in Insuring that Excellent Service Happens