This invaluable resource is the training manual you need to give your employees the thorough training, review, and--if necessary--overhaul they need in the vitally important area of customer service.

If their interactions with you and your employees were the only things your customers knew about your business, what would they say about it? Would they use descriptions such as “uninformed,” “rude,” “hot-tempered,” “uncaring”? For your customer, nothing else represents your business more than your employees; therefore, nothing is more important than arming them with the knowledge and skills they need to find the best solution for every customer. 

Using scenarios, guidelines, and practice exercises, Customer Service Training 101 will train them in:

• Creating positive first impressions
• Speaking and writing effectively
• Listening attentively
• Identifying needs
• Making customers feel valued
• Confidently handling customer complaints

Your business plan is sound. Your product is needed. Your growth strategies are ground-breaking, but poor customer service can bring it all to a crashing halt. Equip you and your employees with the necessary skills before it’s too late.

Don’t let your customer interactions go astray. Develop the customer service skills necessary for the success of your company. - (Thomas Nelson)

RENÉE EVENSON is a customer service consultant and former BellSouth Telecommunications manager and trainer. She is the author of Powerful Phrases for Effective Customer Service.

It’s not about marketing, demand, distribution, or even a great product. The number-one key to your business success is customer service, because if the buying experience is anything less than exceptional, consumers will look elsewhere for what they need. And it’s truer now than ever before, with a virtually unlimited range of choices available online. You can’t afford to offer sub-par customer service that gives competing companies the edge.

The gold standard since its initial publication more than a decade ago, Customer Service Training 101 is designed to help managers teach and motivate their workforce to interact effectively with the public. The revised third edition of this invaluable resource has been substantially updated to reflect the changing realities of today’s marketplace and the new technologies that drive buying and selling in the 21st century.

Customer Service Training 101 offers powerful tools and techniques for solidifying customer loyalty. Each chapter provides specific examples of the right and the wrong way to handle customer contacts in a host of different situations—as well as practice lessons, topics for discussion and brainstorming, “how-do-I-measure-up” questions that will enable employees to analyze and improve their skill levels, and more.

The revised edition includes expanded sections on online and social media-based customer service, and new email and website strategies, since many of today’s interactions involve good writing skills. This new version also covers the most effective methods for providing efficient and courteous service in self-serve operations.

Your employees are the face and the voice of your company, whether they’re dealing with customers by phone, online, or face-to-face in brick-and-mortar establishments. The impressions they leave will dramatically affect the sales of your company’s products or services, and if their “people skills” are lacking, your business will suffer.

If you’re an owner or manager who’s interested in preparing your company’s personnel to relate more positively with customers and clients—or if you’re an employee looking to improve your communication and sales skills—Customer Service Training 101 is the one guide you need to make it happen.

Advance praise for this edition:

“Customer Service Training 101 is a practical and actionable guide that will prepare front-line employees to provide exceptional customer service, whether face-to-face, over the phone, or online.”— Steve Curtin, author of Delight Your Customers

“Customer Service Training 101 serves as the foundation for a well-received collegiate customer service course. The book provides the right blend of customer service theory and practical, real-world application examples to be an important input to a four-year business management curriculum.” — David Lungren, Vice President, Digital Content Solutions, Collegis Education

“Renée Evenson’s Customer Service Training 101 has long been recognized as a must-have training tool for customer service managers and frontline reps. The third edition is an even more fine-pointed and practical tool for preparing customer service reps to create positive and productive interactions with customers, whatever service channel is being used.”— Bill Keenan, editor, Customer Communicator

RENÉE EVENSON is a customer service consultant and author of nine books specializing in communication, conflict resolution, and customer service. Her latest books are Powerful Phrases for Effective Customer Service and Powerful Phrases for Dealing with Difficult People.