Customer Service for IT and Helpdesk Professionals

Course Overview

This course is specifically designed for people who deal with the general workforce either in an IT environment, call centre or any type of Helpdesk / Support environment. It is an intensive course that aims to build on areas where Helpdesk representatives feel they could benefit from assertiveness and customer care awareness and service skills. This course looks at key areas of Customer Service that can be improved and developed upon, to make the individual more responsive and perceptive to their customers' needs.
Prerequisites

• None

Objectives

Delegates will be able to :

• Recognise the importance of delivering excellent customer service so that you can help to build, maintain, and increase your organisation's customer base.
• Focus on the customer so that the individual is motivated to return.
• Handle complaints so that customers are satisfied.
• Deliver excellent customer service on the telephone so that customers have a positive perception about your organisation.
• Cope with stress so that you maintain a healthy level of work-related stress.
• Ooze confidence and professionalism regardless of who in the company hierarchy structure they deal with

Training Options

• Bespoke course (a course written to your specific needs) at your company office throughout the UK, at our training venue or at an independent location, convenient to you
• Private course at your company office throughout the UK, at our training room or at an independent location, convenient to you
• Scheduled public course at one of our training venues

Whats Included

• Lunch (When at our training venue)
• Refreshments (When at our training venue)
• Relaxed refreshment area at our training room

Course Content
Defining Customer Service

• Understanding the customer service environment
• Who is the customer?
• Developing a customer service strategy
• Committing yourself to providing excellent customer service

Understanding the Role of a Help Desk Representative

• Creating a positive first impression
• Defining the help desk representative skills
• How sharp are your customer service skills?

Developing Customer Service Skills

• Attitude is the key to success
• Relationship building with the customer - when to & not to...
• Professionalism always with whomever you deal with (Joe Bloggs v Colleagues)
• Good customer service habits
• Ineffective customer service habits
• Understanding customer logic theory
• Identifying and helping meet the customer's needs
• Creating a positive last impression

Creating Customer Service Solutions

• Understanding customer service solutions
• Taking ownership
• Listening and taking notes
• Expressing empathy
• Utilising questioning techniques
• Restating the solution and gaining customer agreement
• Following-up
• Knowing what your customer really wants

Learning Telephone Skills

• Understanding telephone etiquette
• Answering the phone
• Greeting the caller
• Managing the call / transferring calls
• Ending the call
• Telephone service fundamentals
• Good telephone service
• Attitude and interpersonal skills
• Greeting customers
• Effective call handling
• Identifying customer needs
• Handling difficult calls

Listening Skills

• Are you a good listener?
• Learning effective listening skills
• Five facts about listening
• The five most common poor listening habits
• Ten ways to improve listening

Working with Body Language

• Understanding body language basics
• Building rapport with eye contact
• Understanding facial expressions
• Using hand gestures
• Having good posture
• Understanding social space issues
• Displaying a neat personal appearance

Using Your Voice Effectively

• Aspects of a good voice
• Identification of common voice problems
• Practice techniques for improving voice quality

Working with Difficult Customers

• Tackling difficult customers
• Take the high road
• Helping with the angry customer
• Helping the high maintenance customer
• Helping other difficult customers
• Managing a difficult call
• The rewards of good service

Dealing with Stress

• Understanding stress
• Evaluating individual stress factors
• The science of stress
• Ways to alleviate stress
• Relieving stress with relaxation techniques

Employee motivation and monitoring

• Employee motivation
• Communication with employees
• Employee performance evaluation
• Employee monitoring tools

Customer management

• Customer expectations
• Customer relationship management

Managing for excellent service

• Setting service levels
• Achieving service levels
• Analyzing reports

Communicating information to executives

• Information that executives need
• Communicating with executives