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Customer service training 101 : quick and easy techniques that get great results
2018
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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.

- (Thomas Nelson)

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

Author Biography

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.

- (American Management Association)

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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.

- (American Management Association)

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Table of Contents

Acknowledgments vii
Introduction 1(4)
Tips for the Trainer 5(8)
Tips for the Student 13(6)
PART I PUTTING YOUR BEST FACE FORWARD
1 Your First Steps Can Make a Huge Stride: The Basics
19(22)
Customer Service Is the Basics
20(3)
Step 1 First Impressions Matter
23(3)
Step 2 Courtesy Counts
26(3)
Step 3 Attitude Is Everything
29(3)
Step 4 Doing the Right Thing: Ethical Issues
32(9)
Key Points
37(1)
Practice Lesson
38(1)
Doing It Right!
39(1)
How Do I Measure Up?
40(1)
2 Tossing the Ball Back and Forth: Effective Communication
41(31)
Customer Service Is Effective Communication
42(4)
Step 1 Say What You Mean and Mean What You Say
46(3)
Step 2 Enhance Your Messages with Nonverbal Techniques
49(3)
Step 3 Putting Words Together: Grammar Usage
52(3)
Step 4 Ask the Correct Questions and Answer the Questions Correctly
55(4)
Step 5 Overcome the Big No
59(3)
Step 6 Listen Attentively
62(10)
Key Points
67(1)
Practice Lesson
68(1)
Doing It Right!
69(1)
How Do I Measure Up?
70(2)
3 Jumping In with Both Feet: Relationship Building
72(31)
Customer Service Is Building Relationships
73(4)
Step 1 Establish Rapport
77(4)
Step 2 Interact Positively with Customers
81(2)
Step 3 Identify Customers' Needs
83(2)
Step 4 Make Each Customer Feel Valued
85(2)
Step 5 Maintain Ongoing Relationships
87(2)
Step 6 Understand Various Types of Customers
89(14)
Key Points
96(1)
Practice Lesson
97(2)
Doing It Right!
99(1)
How Do I Measure Up?
100(3)
PART II PUTTING YOUR CUSTOMERS FIRST
4 Seeing Eye to Eye: Face-to-Face Contacts
103(19)
Customer Service Is Face-to-Face Contacts
104(4)
Step 1 Welcome Your Customers
108(3)
Step 2 Find the Best Solutions
111(2)
Step 3 Show Appreciation
113(9)
Key Points
117(1)
Practice Lesson
118(1)
Doing It Right!
119(1)
How Do I Measure Up?
120(2)
5 Saying It with a Smile: Telephone Contacts
122(19)
Customer Service Is Telephone Contacts
123(4)
Step 1 Welcome Your Customers
127(1)
Step 2 Find the Best Solutions
128(4)
Step 3 Show Appreciation
132(9)
Key Points
136(1)
Practice Lesson
137(1)
Doing It Right!
138(2)
How Do I Measure Up?
140(1)
6 Keeping Up with the Times: Online and Social Media Customer Service
141(23)
Customer Service Is Online and Social Media Contacts
142(5)
Step 1 Welcome Your Customers
147(3)
Step 2 Find the Best Solutions
150(4)
Step 3 Show Appreciation
154(10)
Key Points
159(1)
Practice Lesson
160(1)
Doing It Right!
161(1)
How Do I Measure Up?
162(2)
7 Giving When Getting Is Not Expected: Self-Service Contacts
164(18)
Customer Service Is Self-Service Contacts
165(3)
Step 1 Welcome Your Customers
168(2)
Step 2 Find the Best Solutions
170(3)
Step 3 Show Appreciation
173(9)
Key Points
177(1)
Practice Lesson
178(1)
Doing It Right!
179(8)
How Do I Measure Up?
181(1)
8 Calming the Storm: Customer Complaint Contacts
182(29)
Customer Service Is Customer Complaint Contacts
183(4)
Step 1 Understand the Complaint
187(3)
Step 2 Identify the Cause
190(3)
Step 3 Solve the Problem
193(4)
Step 4 Restore the Relationship
197(1)
Step 5 Fix What Needs to Be Fixed
198(13)
Key Points
202(1)
Practice Lesson
203(3)
Doing It Right!
206(2)
How Do I Measure Up?
208(3)
PART III PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER
9 Hitting the Ground Running: Ready, Set, Go
211(6)
Customer Service Is Being Ready and Set to Go
212(3)
Your Customer Service Training Quick Reference
215(2)
10 Being the Best You Can Be: The Total Package
217(4)
Customer Service Is Being the Best You Can Be Every Day
217(3)
Always Be Your Best!
220(1)
Index 221

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