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Telephone Courtesy and Customer Service

Subscriber price: $55.00, Non-subscriber price: $70.00
Estimated total study time: 2 hours 38 minutes

To estimated study time you should add approximately 1 hour for final action plan development and evaluation. This course uses video role play, personalization exercises, and coaching options. Concludes with a personal action plan oriented to one's particular job assignment and needed growth areas.

In this course, you will learn how to:

• Understand the basics of providing high quality customer service
• Learn proper telephone techniques
• Understand the customer
• Manage the customer's perception
• Understand the essential role customer service plays in the success of your company

Quality Customer Service and Telephone Techniques

This lesson helps you understand the basics of providing high quality customer service and introduces you to several telephone techniques.

(Estimated study time: 42 minutes)

• Introduction
• Section I: Quality Customer Service
  • Customer Service is Everyone's Responsibility
  • The Importance of the Telephone in Your Organization
  • Diagram of a Quality-Conscious Company
• Section II: Proper Telephone Techniques
  • Telephone Technique One: Handling the Telephone
  • Telephone Technique Two: Your Voice Inflection
  • Telephone Technique Three: Your Best Voice
    • Voice Self-Assessment
  • Telephone Technique Four: Addressing the Caller
  • Telephone Technique Five: Answering the Telephone
  • Telephone Technique Six: Effective Listening

Telephone Techniques Seven Through Eleven...

As you work through this lesson, you will learn ways to negotiate agreement with customers and to obtain information you need.

(Estimated study time: 37 minutes)

• Introduction
• Section II: Proper Telephone Techniques, Continued...
  • Telephone Technique Seven: Managing Objections
    • Summary: Managing Objections
    • Statements, Questions or Objections
  • Telephone Technique Eight: The Art of Negotiation
    • Review
  • Telephone Technique Nine: The Service Follow-Up Call
  • Telephone Technique Ten: Asking Questions
    • Using Questions When Fact Finding
  • Telephone Technique Eleven: Making the Outbound Service Call

Telephone Techniques Twelve Through Eighteen

In this lesson, you will learn about:

• Handling difficult customers and situations, and,
• Managing your call volume and messages.

(Estimated study time: 38 minutes)

• Introduction
• Section II: Proper Telephone Techniques, Continued...
  • Telephone Technique Twelve: Delivering Bad News
  • Telephone Technique Thirteen: Managing Caller Behaviors
    • Managing The Conversation With An Assertive/Demanding Customer
      • Summary: How To Respond To An Assertive/Demanding Caller
    • Managing the Angry Caller
      • Summary: Telephone Techniques For Managing The Angry Customer
    • Managing the Passive Customer
    • Managing the Talkative Caller
      • Closed Questions
      • Space Control
      • Minimal Response
  • Telephone Technique Fourteen: Managing Your Voice Message System
  • Telephone Technique Fifteen: Managing Telephone Messages
    • The Comparison Method
  • Telephone Technique Sixteen: The Customer Callback
  • Telephone Technique Seventeen: Some Statements to Avoid
  • Telephone Technique Eighteen: Closing the Conversation
  • Review Of Section II

Understanding Customer Needs and Managing Customer Perception

Two more key skills for providing excellent telephone customer service are covered in this lesson:

• Understanding customer needs
• Managing the customer's perception

(Estimated study time: 35 minutes)

• Introduction
• Section III: Understanding Customer Needs
  • What Your Customer Wants
    • CUSTOMER #1
    • CUSTOMER #2
    • CUSTOMER #3
    • CUSTOMER NEEDS
  • Attitude is Your Key to Success
  • Quality Customer Service Defined
• Section IV: Managing the Customer's Perception
  • Case Study: The Wholesale Widget Company
  • The Customer's Perception: An Exercise
  • Managing the Customer's Perception: The Customer Service Call

Your Telephone Skills Inventory and Action Plan for Better Service

This final session of Telephone Courtesy & Customer Service consists of a personal action plan to be developed and then pursued following course completion. It provides an opportunity to apply what has been learned to your particular job assignment.

(Estimated study time: 6 minutes)

• Introduction
• Telephone Service Skills Inventory
• Your Action Plan for Better Service