Main topics of study:

What is Customer Service?:

• Importance of Customer Service
• Understanding Customer Satisfaction
• Excellent Customer Service
• Five Needs of Every Customer
• Cost of Losing a Customer

Challenges of Customer Service:

• Elements of Success
• Barriers to Excellent Customer Service
• Power of Perceptions
• Understanding Expectations
• Levels of Expectations
• Scope of Influence
• Reputation Management
• Techniques for Exceeding Customer Expectations
• Keys to Credibility
• Importance of Values
• Ethics in Customer Service
• Current Status of Customer Service
• New Trends in Customer Service

Problem Solving:

• Role of Problem Solving in Customer Service
• Creativity & Problem Solving
• Problems as Opportunities
• Confronting Conflict
• Problem Solving Process
• Problem Solving Strategies
• Development of Negotiation Skills
• Professional Approaches to Apologising & Conveying Bad News
• Barriers to Problem Solving & Decision Making
• Importance of Follow Up

Strategy & Formulating a Plan for Success:

• Why a Strategy?
• Planning
• Importance of Infrastructure
• Culture
• High Touch & Low Touch Customers
• Segmenting the Market
• Developing a Strategy

Empowerment:

• Importance of Mission & Purpose Statement
• Steps to Empowering Customer Service Providers
• Co-Production of Customer Service
• Why Co-Production Works
• Design of Systems

Communications in Customer Service:

• Building Customer Intelligence
• Methods of Communication
• Listening
• Voice Inflection as a Customer Service Tool
• Telephones & Customer Service
• Words to Use/Avoid
• Power Phrases
• Power of Eye Contact
• Appeal to the Senses
• Communication & Technology

Coping with Challenging Customers:

• Who are Challenging Customers?
• Why they are Challenging?
• Characteristics of Challenging Customers
• Respect
• Empathy
• Accepting Mistakes
• Benefits from Dealing with Challenging Customers

Motivation:

• What is Motivation?
• Needs & Wants
• Motivating Factors
• Understanding Morale
• Self-Concept & Motivation
• Improving Self-Concept
• Power of Self Motivation
• Teamwork
• Motivating Others

Leadership in Customer Service:

• Leadership Defined
• Knowing Yourself
• Formal & Informal Leaders
• Coach or Counsellor
• Characteristics of Excellent Leaders
• Leadership & Goals
• Creating a Customer Service Culture
• Benefit of Job Aids
• Leadership without Position
• The Boss as a Customer

Customer Retention & Measurement of Satisfaction:

• What is Customer Retention?
• Value of Existing Customers
• Churn
• Developing & Improving the Customer Retention Programme
• Measurement of Satisfaction
• Sources of Information
• Benefits of Measuring your Effectiveness
• Determining your Effectiveness
• Surveys & Reality
• Business Benefits from Measuring Satisfaction

Delivering Customer Service to the Changing Marketplace:

• Today’s Changing Marketplace
• The Customer of the 21st Century
• New Technology
• Call Centres
• The Internet
• Enhancing Service Experiences & Building Customer Loyalty

Excellence in Customer Service:

• Excellence as the Goal
• Getting Started
• Rewards of Excellent Customer Service

Reading List

Main Texts:

Customer Service: A Practical Approach – Elaine K Harris (Prentice Hall)

Alternative Texts and Further Reading:

Managing Customer Service – Jenny Hayes & Frances Dredge (Gower)
Once a Customer Always a Customer – Chris Duffy (Oak Tree Press)