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How to Deliver Excellent Customer Service
Trainer – Phil Sweet
HOW TO DELIVER EXCELLENT CUSTOMER SERVICE
Course Objectives
Introduction
"Most people turn up at work every day wanting to perform to the best of their ability. We just need
to remove the barriers that get in their way. This is the first step towards delivering excellent
customer service!"
This is a highly interactive workshop which will encourage delegates to think for themselves about
what characterises good and bad customer service. It will also equip them with the skills that will
help them deliver excellent customer service every time.
This course will teach delegates:
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To recognise the difference between good and bad service
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To be more aware of how customer service can be shaped by our own words, body
language, tone and listening skills
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How to deal more effectively with difficult customers and difficult conversations
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How to be more assertive and the difference between assertive, passive and aggressive
behaviour
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How to constructively and positively address service failure – dealing with complaints
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The importance of managing customers’ expectations…and how to do it!
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How to ensure excellent service is delivered equally to all customers
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The importance of delivering excellent service to internal customers
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How to change…making it personal!
Phil Sweet
Training & Management Consultant
Tel:
07789 904 700
Email: phil@philsweet.co.uk
Web: www.philsweet.co.uk
“Removing the barriers to excellent service”
www.philsweet.co.uk
How to Deliver Excellent Customer Service
Trainer – Phil Sweet
DELIVERING EXCELLENT CUSTOMER SERVICE
Introduction:
The course will begin with an ice-breaker exercise/game which encourages delegates to work in
small groups – sharing their skills & experiences and getting to know each other.
The results of this opening exercise will help in identifying the key learning objectives for the day
which will then be recorded on flipchart paper and displayed around the room for the duration of
the course. This helps to ensure delegates constantly focus on these objectives throughout the
course.
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Defining good, bad, and perceptions of customer service
 Group exercise (in pairs) identifying good & poor service we have experienced
personally:
o What went wrong?
o How did you feel?
o What could/should have been done differently?
o What is your perception of that company/organisation based on the service
you received?
 Group discussion about ‘perceptions of service’:
o What the customer perceives is what is REAL
o How can we change customer perceptions?
o How can we step ‘into our customers’ shoes’
Developing self-awareness and an understanding of the impact of our behaviour and
thinking styles when delivering customer service
 Good customer service is not just a task or a skill, it’s an attitude
 Emotional Intelligence – how being aware of your own emotions can help in assessing
those of your customer and avoid making assumptions about people
 How can you adjust your attitude, behaviour & thinking style to suit different situations
and influence customer service?
 Brief introduction to Transactional Analysis – what it is and what it means in a
customer service setting
o 3 ways we can respond & 3 ways our customers can respond to any given
situation – PARENT – CHILD – ADULT
o Discuss how our actions and reactions can impact our customers’ reactions
How can customer service be shaped by our language, body language, tone and listening
skills?
 How to be more assertive – recognising the difference between assertive, passive &
aggressive behaviours
 Examine & discuss examples of good and bad body language & tone
 Active listening – what are the key ingredients?
 Exercise (in pairs) to illustrate active listening skills & techniques
Exploring good/bad customer service standards on the phone and through electronic
communication (email, texts, social media)
 How to build rapport with customers when you cannot use visual body language e.g.
on the phone or in writing
o On the phone you can use words and tone…and body language
o In writing you only have words
 Group discussion – good and bad practice examples of phone & written
communication
“Removing the barriers to excellent service”
www.philsweet.co.uk
How to Deliver Excellent Customer Service
Trainer – Phil Sweet
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Compare good and bad examples – what makes the difference?
Why is electronic communication different to paper – a letter is generally only
seen by its recipient, emails can be forwarded to many people
 What about social media?
o Why is social media useful in delivering good customer service?
o How can it be misused?
o Why do we need to be even more careful about the way we use social media
compared to email & letters?
 What is the big difference between face-to-face or phone contact and written contact?
o Written contact can be misinterpreted – especially text messaging & email
o How can we ensure our messages are clear and unambiguous?
Managing challenging customers on the phone and in person
 Group exercise (in pairs) to identify specific examples where you have had to respond
to challenging customers:
o What went well – what went badly?
o What could you have done better?
 Learn the ‘7 Steps to Managing Difficult Conversations’
o Separate the problem from the person
o Maintain control
o Active listening – “The Anger Hill”
o Display empathy
o Identify the issue
o Don’t blame others
o Resolve the problem – take action
 Role-play in 3’s – “The Difficult Conversation”
 Dealing with unreasonable or excessive demands
o Separate the issue from the person
o Don’t take unreasonable behaviour personally
o Learn how to be more assertive
Constructively and positively addressing service failure
 Responding positively to complaints about service failure
 When to use the complaints process and how to resolve complaints at the ‘first point
of contact’
 How use of empathy can stop complaints escalating
 Group exercise: consider case studies of complaints:
o Could the complaint have been avoided?
o What could have been done differently?
o How can we avoid making the same mistakes again?
o How can we learn from complaints or service failure?
Mechanisms to develop and drive up standards of customer service
 Group exercise & discussion: what methods can we use to improve customer service
standards?
o Customer feedback – through satisfaction surveys, complaints & compliments
o Set up tenant scrutiny & inspection panels to challenge performance and
service standards
o Good practice – learn from other high performing organisations, both within
and outside the housing sector
Effectively managing customers/residents expectations, and the benefits of educating
customers
 Group discussion – where do our customers get their expectations?
“Removing the barriers to excellent service”
www.philsweet.co.uk
How to Deliver Excellent Customer Service
Trainer – Phil Sweet
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From our service standards
Word of mouth from other customers
Experience from other service providers e.g. supermarkets, banks, insurance
companies…even other landlords
o Past experience of our service – good or bad!
 Why are there often gaps between what our customers expect and what we actually
deliver?
o We don’t understand our customers’ needs/expectations
o We make incorrect assumptions about what is required
o We don’t do what we say we will!
o Our service standards are not specific enough…or are they too specific and/or
undeliverable?
o We tell them what we think they want to hear NOT what we can actually
deliver
 How can we ‘mind the gap’?
o Learn how to under-promise and over-deliver
o Set clear expectations at the outset
o Good communication – keep them informed!
o Learn from complaints – stop making the same mistakes
o Have a ‘can-do’ attitude – to customers AND colleagues
o Learn how to say ‘no’ and still achieve a positive outcome
o Never blame others – take responsibility & ownership – don’t make excuses
9. Meeting the customer service needs of BME, vulnerable and hard to reach customers
 In groups, discuss what we mean by the terms – BME, vulnerable and ‘hard to reach’
o How do we find out our customers’ needs & where is that information held?
o In what ways can we vary our service to meet these needs?
o Why making assumptions is dangerous
10. Customer service beyond the front line and maintaining good customer service standards
with internal and external staff
 Group discussion: Can we deliver excellent service to external customers without
delivering excellent service internally?
o How can we ensure internal customers are treated with the same respect as
external customers?
o How can we set ‘internal service standards’ to ensure excellent internal
customer service?
Final Exercise – ‘making it real’!
 Small group exercise – using materials supplied, design a picture/model which portrays
what excellent customer service would look like
And finally…
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The workshop concludes with a session where each delegate is invited to record 1, 2 or
3 actions they will take as a result of the training. They will consider:
o What will you do differently?
o What impact will it have?
o How will you feel when you are actually doing it?
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Delegates will then be invited to share some of their actions with the group which
helps to reinforce the commitment to change.
“Removing the barriers to excellent service”
www.philsweet.co.uk
How to Deliver Excellent Customer Service
Trainer – Phil Sweet
Examples of group exercises, activities & videos
1. Ice-breaker exercise – “The Customer Service Crossword”
Duration:
10 – 30 minutes dependent upon how you use the activity
Objective:
To use as the basis of a discussion on the topic of customer service
Resources:
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One customer service crossword (below) for each participant, or one for each team
One customer care crossword solution for each participant, or one for each team
Instructions:
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Hand out the crossword and clues – one per person or one per team
Allow up to 15 minutes for participants to complete the crossword.
Provide the solution so that participants can check their answers.
Close the activity by leading a group discussion - what are the key customer service
messages arising from this activity?
Clues:
Down
1. Be concerned about the customer
Across
2. A complaining customer expects a ____
hearing.
3. Assistance or support for customers
5. Try to give customers more than one option
to ______ from.
6. We must aim to get customer service right
________ time
7. You do this with your ears to find out what
customers want
8. The people we are here to serve
9. Exchange information
4. Action that produces the desired result for
customers
10. You need to ask these to find out what the
customer wants
12. It's not sympathy, but it shows we
understand
14. Service is about the way we _______ our
customers.
16. The standard of service customers
expect
11. A customer who needs immediate action
won't like this
17. To meet customer needs or wants
13. How we want our customers to feel as a
result of our service
18. What the customer wants from us when
there is a problem
“Removing the barriers to excellent service”
www.philsweet.co.uk
How to Deliver Excellent Customer Service
15. The opposite of rigid
Trainer – Phil Sweet
19. Disregard a customer deliberately
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2. Video clips from Fawlty Towers:
Clips from the following video can be used throughout the course to emphasise certain points,
keep people engaged and introduce an element of fun into the day
http://youtu.be/5hWWtA7npmE
3. Video clip illustrating good & bad telephone techniques:
Good - http://youtu.be/lbVLgvE3kE0
Bad - http://youtu.be/6Zsmtpd2IcQ
“Removing the barriers to excellent service”
www.philsweet.co.uk
How to Deliver Excellent Customer Service
Trainer – Phil Sweet
4. Exercise to illustrate importance of active listening
In pairs sit back-to-back and one person gives the other directions to their home from here. The
person listening gives no feedback and makes no sound or acknowledgment.
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The group then discusses how it felt to try to explain something without any verbal or
visual feedback
The exercise is repeated, this time with pairs sitting facing each other.
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The group discusses how this was different, receiving verbal acknowledgment, feedback
& positive body language
5. Role-play – The Difficult Conversation
Delegates work in groups of three with one being an angry customer, one a member of staff and
one an observer.
The angry customer is given a scenario to act out and the member of staff has to respond using
the ‘7 Steps for Managing Difficult Conversations’. The observer records how the member of
staff reacts and how well they use the 7 Steps.
Each group then feeds back how the exercise went.
6. Case studies
Case studies will be developed by delegates during the day and then used to illustrate various
scenarios.
7. Group exercise – What does excellent customer service look like?
This exercise is designed to encourage the delegates to work collaboratively in teams, designing
a model or picture which illustrates excellent customer service, using a small amount of basic
materials.
The exercise encourages delegates to be creative and to visualise what good service might look
like. This will reinforce many of the positive messages that have been developed during the day.
“Removing the barriers to excellent service”
www.philsweet.co.uk