Tips for the Student
WELL-TRAINED EMPLOYEES ARE
THE KEY TO SATISFIED CUSTOMERS
Why is customer service training important? The answer is simple: Treating your customers well is essential to your company and to your job. Learning how to give exceptional customer service is necessary for any business to succeed. Customers have many choices. If they are not happy with the way they are treated, they can take their business elsewhere. Always remember:
CUSTOMERS ARE THE REASON YOU HAVE A JOB
Whether your manager purchased this book for a training class or you purchased it to improve your own skills, you are going to learn how to present yourself well and how to handle different types of customers in varying situations.
Before you begin your training classes or read the book, it will be beneficial to identify your personal needs and define learning outcomes. This will help you prepare for learning new skills, enable you to get the most out of the material, and help you self-monitor after training.
IDENTIFY YOUR PERSONAL NEEDS AND DEFINE LEARNING OUTCOMES
Think about your typical customer contacts. Which types of customers or customer interactions are you uncomfortable handling? For example, are you unsure how to talk to customers who are upset and confront you in an angry tone? Make a list of any areas in which you need improvement or guidance.
Now think about your job from a technical standpoint. What must you learn to do your job effectively? Make a list of those areas in which you need additional training. Before you begin your customer service training, give this list to your manager and ask for the technical training you need. You must feel comfortable with your products, services, and policies before you can feel comfortable helping each customer.
Finally, think about what you want to gain from training. Make a list of learning outcomes. Turn your areas of improvement into learning outcomes by rephrasing them as positive statements. For example, not knowing how to deal with customers who are angry could be written as a learning objective: turn angry customers into satisfied ones.
PREPARE FOR THE TRAINING SESSION
Whether you are a student in a class or working through the material on your own, reading and learning puts you into a different routine. When you are used to working with customers and coworkers, staying alert when you sit, read, and work through a book can be difficult. Make the most of the training sessions by:
Getting enough sleep the night before training
Eating a healthy breakfast
Knowing what to expect during the class
Taking deep breaths when you feel drowsy
Standing and stretching when you feel sleepy
Taking a short walking break when you feel ready to nod off
GET THE MOST OUT OF THE MATERIAL
As you work through each chapter, relate what you are reading to the type of customer interactions you handle. You may choose to focus on a specific customer scenario for each chapter. If you do, use the blank pages found in Part II to write down a typical customer request. You can refer to this scenario when answering the Practice Lesson questions.
Each chapter follows a similar format:
General chapter information
“The Wrong Way To ___”
Overview of the key points that will be covered in the chapter
Next, each key point is explained step-by-step in an in-depth manner, followed by “The Right Way To _____.”
Business “Not” as Usual
Summary of key points and steps
Practice Lesson
Doing It Right!
How Do I Measure Up?
In addition, each chapter contains handy tips and discussion topics for group-meeting brainstorming sessions.
If you are learning on your own, read through a chapter, then review the key points and steps. If you feel comfortable with the material, work the Practice Lesson. If you are not comfortable, go back over the chapter. Make sure you understand the material before moving on. Give yourself time to practice the steps in each chapter before moving on to the next.
SELF-MONITOR AFTER TRAINING
Review your list of learning outcomes. Do you feel comfortable that you have mastered each? If not, review the relevant chapters again. Then, if you still feel uncomfortable or unsure, talk to your manager so together you can turn your areas of improvement into strengths.
Most important, enjoy the work you do. Your customers and co-workers depend on you to be your best.