Brilliant IT and technical customer service!
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course detailsOverview
This practical one-day course has a simple objective: to raise IT and technical customer service and support standards by instructing, equipping and inspiring participants to delight customers at every opportunity. Participants will acquire essential tools, skills and methods; discuss specific organisational issues; and identify areas for improvement.
Training objectives
This course will help you:- Establish the standards and systems that can make every customer feel special
- Understand what customers (whether internal or external) want and expect from you
- Learn a range of customer-focused communication techniques, tools and skills that will help you solve questions and problems faster
- Understand and manage customer expectations accurately so that you deliver more than you promise and exceed expectations – in what you do and HOW you do it
- Satisfy complainers, and calm upset customers and regain confidence and goodwill
- Turn problems into opportunities – for either greater loyalty or increased customer satisfaction
- Improve customer satisfaction through more accurate use of questioning and problem-solving skills
- Learn from customer problems and complaints and help prevent them in the future.
- Make every customer feel SPECIAL – using a proven model
- Manage your time and learn practical ways to prioritise customer calls and problems effectively
- Speed and Time
- Personal and personalised
- Expectations – manage and exceed
- Competence and courtesy
- Information
- Attitude
- Long-term relationship and follow-through
Each of these points is related explicitly to the jobs the course participants do and their interaction with internal customers face-to-face, on the telephone or by email.
Audience
This course is ideal for IT and technical support staff, managers and team leaders, particularly those who support or work with internal customers.
Format
The training is very practical and objective. Very clear and specific skills, models and techniques are covered. The focus is on improving things that are already working, not going over old ground. Participants will discuss and plan new approaches to real-life examples taken from their own situations.
Each element of the course includes:- High-quality training presentation
- Group exercises and team activities
- High degree of participation and interaction
The course includes regular discussion, planning and other practical exercises to develop and practise the skills and methods presented. Presentation and exercises can be tailored to specific situations from participants’ work. The style is up-beat and motivational.
Special features
The course can be tailored to include any specialist topics such as advanced telephone skills, dealing with complaints, internal planning, etc, according to organisational need or the skill level of the participants.
Price
In the UK, the price is £995 per day’s training (or £895 for public and voluntary sectors). Internationally, the price varies, depending on the country: please call us for details. Whether in the UK or internationally, you get:- A day’s training for a maximum group size of 12 (8 to 10 recommended)
- A tried-and-tested course (tailored, if necessary, to your specific needs)
- Your choice of expert trainer – pick a local trainer to minimise expenses or look through the list and choose someone with relevant sector experience
- A printed workbook for each course participant, including invaluable reference materials for use after the course
- A personal action plan for each participant, to help them raise their level of customer service
- A certificate of attendance for each course participant
- A comprehensive report giving you the participants’ feedback from the day’s training
- A follow-up call three months later to help assess the extent of the improvements achieved as a result of the training
Any hidden costs? The only additional costs are the trainer’s travel and incidental costs, and (if really unavoidable) accommodation costs – and we’ll give you an estimate of these costs before you commit. VAT is applicable.
Course outline
1 Introduction- Personal objectives – and introducing the ‘Learning Diary’
- The ‘problems into opportunities’ approach
- Knowing what your customers really want and expect from your company and you personally – the three S’s of success
- Applying these principles to different types and categories of customer
- The main types of IT and technical service offered – where do you rate?
- The difference that makes a difference – examples of good and bad service situations
- The seven qualities that make customers feel SPECIAL
– Speed and time
– Personal / personalise
– Expectations – manage and exceed
– Competence / courtesy
– Information
– Attitude
– Long-term relationship and follow-through - Applying the SPECIAL qualities to your job
- Qualities of IT and technical customer service superstars
- Practical exercises
- Gaining rapport and connecting with customers – and how to adapt for different regions
- How to quickly ‘tune in’ to different types of customers, so that you can serve them more easily and effectively
- Understanding body language and non-verbal communication
- Specific gestures and phrases that put customers at ease
- Using the right form of communication – telephone, email and face to face
- Best practice summary
- Different types of question and how to ask more effective questions
- Active listening and drawing-out skills
- Leading with examples and high-impact questions
- Creating clarity and confidence through summarising and restating
- The reasons customers complain – and what to do first when they do
- Why complaints are really GREAT FUN! – a proven method of dealing with these situations
- Ways to calm angry customers (and handle verbal attacks)
- How to react when you’ve let a customer down because you have missed an expectation or promise
- Conflict management: a five step approach to gaining customer confidence, taking control of the situation, and moving to constructive solutions
- Escalation – when and how to escalate difficult situations
- When it is fine to defend, explain or justify – and when it is not
- What to do when you don’t have an answer the customer wants to hear
- Using creative thinking and proven problem-solving methods to resolve issues quickly
- How to use proper preparation to ward off excessive or unreasonable demands
- Managing customer expectation and exceed it by using ‘prompt sheets’, other aids and internal processes
- Five ‘listening loops’ – what they are and how they can prevent disgruntled customers
- How to ensure effective follow-up to problems and complaints
- How best to review and measure customer satisfaction and take your service to the next level – personalised customer service
- Improve your influencing skills when gaining information and support from internal support providers
- How to master the skills of ‘horizontal delegation’
- Follow-through and ensuring your requests stay high priority
- How to get off the ‘good customer/bad customers’ roller coaster
- Tips to revitalise your spirits, even on a bad day
- How to turn your encounters with difficult customers into an ‘inner game’ that is challenging, firm and productive
- Techniques and attitudes to cope more effectively with high workloads, conflicting priorities and client expectations
- To plan effectively in a reactive and short-term focused environment
- How to use key assertive techniques to manage expectations – in other words, how to say no, nicely!
- Maximise personal productivity through improved prioritising, scheduling and delegating
- How best to agree realistic deadlines and priorities with others
- Qualities of IT and technical customer service superstars
- Summary of key learning points
- Action plans
- Learning Diary