Providing Superior Customer Service

At the end of this workshop, you will be able to:

• Achieve and maintain a model of professionalism
• Build rapport with internal and external customers
• Communicate effectively
• Listen actively
• Use calming, persuasive language
• Use positive language for delivering a negative message
• Use voice and body language for improving your credibility
• Apply techniques for dealing with angry or difficult customers
• Creatively turn a complaint or problem into a positive opportunity to excel

Who Are Your Customers?

• Identify internal and external customers
• Understand your customers’ needs and expectations

A Model for Professional Behaviour

• Manage your thoughts
• Handle negative emotions in a positive way
• Maintain positive emotions of calmness and enthusiasm regardless of problems
• Use body language to influence your own emotions

Language

• Use positive words to calm and reassure
• Identify words with negative meaning
• Choose persuasive words that encourage cooperation
• Use pitch, tone and pace to increase credibility and authority on the phone
• Use voice and body language to create good first impressions

Active Listening and Responding

• Identify barriers to good listening
• Listen actively to difficult or angry customers and plan your response
• Turn angry or difficult customers into happy, repeat customers

Creative Customer Service

• Deal creatively with the unexpected
• Respond effectively to customer feedback
• Seize opportunities for excelling
• Exceed the customer’s expectations

There are no prerequisites for this course.

Anyone who has the vitally important job of dealing directly with internal or external customers – customer service, finance, human resources, administrative and sales support, IT help desk – and anyone who supervises customer service professionals.