Customer Service

Topic 1: Focusing on Your Customers. - 0.7 Hours

You’ll discover the difference between customer service and customer-focused and what providing quality customer service means.

By the end of this module, you will be able to:

• Understand the difference between internal and external customers
• Explain the importance of customer service
• Explain the difference between customer service and customer-focused
• Describe what it means to provide quality customer service

 

Topic 2: Providing Friendly, Courteous, and Efficient Service. - 0.8 Hours

Your interactions with customers set the tone for your long-term relationships. In this module, you’ll learn how to greet customers and interact with them in a way that makes them repeat customers.

By the end of this module, you will be able to:

• Create a positive first impression
• Describe how to greet customers
• Explain how to interact courteously and professionally with customers
• Describe how to make customers feel welcome
• Explain the importance of being effective and efficient
• Describe how to end an interaction on a positive note

 

Topic 3: Communicating Effectively with Customers. - 1 Hour

Whether you are interacting with internal or external customers, effective communication is vital. Effective communication makes it possible to understand your customers’ needs.

By the end of this module, you will be able to:

• Understand the importance of choosing positive words to communicate
• Define trigger phrases
• List common communication pitfalls
• Describe different forms of communication
• List advantages and disadvantages of different forms of communication
• Explain the processes for answering telephone calls, putting someone on hold, and transferring calls
• Describe how to write email messages that produce results

 

Topic 4: Identifying and Meeting Customer Needs. - 1 Hour

While some customers may know right away what they’d like from a business, others do not know which products or services they’re interested in. In this module, you’ll discover how to ask questions to identify customer needs and what you can do to successfully meet those needs.

By the end of this module, you will be able to:

• Convey to customers your interest in their wants and needs
• Identify customer needs 
• Ask open-ended and closed questions 
• Meet customer needs
• Explain ways to improve your listening skills
• Describe how to make appropriate recommendations

 

Topic 5: Building Customer Relationships. - 0.8 Hours

Serving your customers in such a way that you build strong relationships with them helps create loyal, repeat customers. In this module, you’ll learn what you can do on a customer service front to encourage customers to return again and again.

By the end of this module, you will be able to:

• Describe the importance of strong relationships with customers
• Build strong relationships with customers
• Establish rapport with customers
• Welcome returning customers 
• Maintain customer relationships
• Reward repeat customers
• Build online rapport with customers

 

Topic 6: Better Serving Customers with Disabilities. - 1 Hour

In this module, you’ll learn how to work well with customers with all types of disabilities. You’ll discover general guidelines for working with customers who have a variety of disabilities. You’ll also find out about special considerations when working with customers who have specific types of disabilities.

By the end of this module, you will be able to:

• List different types of disabilities
• Identify potential obstacles for customers with disabilities
• Use language that focuses on the customer, not the disability
• Describe general guidelines for working with customers with all types of disabilities
• Explain special considerations when working with customers with specific disabilities

 

Topic 7: Dealing with Difficult Customers. - 1 Hour

In customer service, you encounter a wide range of customer personalities. While some customers are fun to work with, others are hard to work with no matter the situation. Others are simply angry. In this module, you’ll learn how to deal with different types of difficult customers.

By the end of this module, you will be able to:

• Explain how to stay calm and composed when dealing with difficult customers
• Describe techniques for handling different types of difficult customers
• List ways to handle entitled customers
• Explain how to restore your relationship with difficult customers

 

Topic 8: Responding to Customer Complaints. - 1.4 Hours

When you work in customer service, dealing with unhappy customers is unavoidable. In this module, you’ll learn how to respond to customer complaints. You’ll also discover a problem-solving process that can help you and the customers reach a mutually agreeable solution.

By the end of this module, you will be able to:

• Explain the importance of customer complaints
• List the different modes of customer complaints
• Explain how to encourage customer complaints
• Describe how to prepare for common complaints
• Explain how to choose words that help calm angry customers
• Explain how to deal with complaints promptly and to the satisfaction of the customer
• Describe the problem-solving process in customer service
• Handle customer objections to possible solutions
• Recognize the importance of following up with customers
• Explain how to use complaints to prevent issues with future customers

 

Topic 9: Managing Conflict with Internal Customers. - 1.5 Hours

Difficult situations don’t occur only with your external customers; they can occur with your internal customers as well. In this module, you’ll learn why conflict with internal customers occurs and what you can do to manage it.

By the end of this module, you will be able to:

• Describe the differences between positive and negative conflict
• List the effects of negative conflict
• List the reasons why conflicts with internal customers occur
• Explain what you can do to prevent conflicts with internal customers
• Identify negative behavior
• Decide if and when to address conflict with internal customers
• Describe what you can do to help resolve conflict with internal customers