Customer Service

Loyal, happy customers and clients are the foundation of your success. The best customer service is how they get that way!Your business or organization wouldn’t exist without your customers. But sometimes this all-important fact gets lost in the demands of daily activities.This video is the solution. Great for new hires or energizing your current team, it uses humor to show employees that being good at customer service (and taking pride in their work) is not only a job requirement but can be...

Whether it happens in person, by telephone, or online, good customer service is vital. In fact, it’s just as important as advertising or product quality in building a company’s reputation and it can decide, ultimately, whether or not that company will survive. This three-part series illustrates best practices for delivering effective customer service, focusing on what an individual employee can and should do to improve his or her attitudes and behavior toward the customer. Each episode...

Excellent telephone customer service doesn’t just happen. It requires dedication, skill—and enthusiasm.Your voice, responsiveness, and product knowledge are the only tools you have to convey the right impression and build customer loyalty over the telephone.Our comedic hosts have a lot of fun with this subject, but their underlying message is sincere: telephone customer service is an important job and it has to be done well. You don’t get a second chance once a customer hangs up—unless you...

Excellent customer service results in more than just “satisfied” customers. It goes to the next level—exceeding their needs and expectations! Help your students understand what positive customer relations are and how they can help their businesses to achieve them. LAPs are comprehensive instructional packages that include all elements of a performance-oriented lesson plan. This LAP includes a student handout (with CopyIT! permission) that includes information about customer relations, a (So...

Do customers always deserve the very best? Successful businesses reach their goals by understanding the importance of a customer-service mindset. Teach your students how they can cultivate and demonstrate this beneficial attitude. LAPs are comprehensive instructional packages that include all elements of a performance-oriented lesson plan. Each LAP includes a student handout (with CopyIT! permission) that includes information about customer-service mindset, a (So What?) discussion of why it's...

Delivering a company’s brand promise requires focus and support from every employee. Teach your students about the power of brand promise and how they can help their businesses succeed in keeping it. LAPs are comprehensive instructional packages that include all elements of a performance-oriented lesson plan. Each LAP includes a student handout (with CopyIT! permission) that includes information about identifying brand promise, a (So What?) discussion of why it's important to learn, and a...

Every salesperson will encounter a difficult customer at one time or another. They come in a variety of types, ranging from argumentative to impatient to dishonest. This LAP covers the entire range of difficult customer types and provides effective guidelines for dealing with each appropriately. LAPs are comprehensive instructional packages that include all elements of a performance-oriented lesson plan. Each LAP includes a student handout (with CopyIT! permission) that includes information...

Every business faces complaints from customers. It isn’t fun, but handling them correctly can benefit everyone involved. This LAP covers the reasons that customers complain as well as what employees should do to ensure positive outcomes. LAPs are comprehensive instructional packages that include all elements of a performance-oriented lesson plan. Each LAP includes a student handout (with CopyIT! permission) that includes information about handling customer complaints, a (So What?) discussion...

Customer relationship management is more than just a type of software! It helps businesses identify valuable clients and tailor marketing strategies to generate more revenue and increase customer loyalty. Teach your students how businesses combine tech, strategies, processes, and people to develop and manage long-term relationships with customers. LAPs are comprehensive instructional packages that include all elements of a performance-oriented lesson plan. This LAP includes a student handout...

Customer trust can make the difference between business success and failure. Teach your students about the importance of ethics in customer relationship management—why customer trust is important, how businesses can build it, and why it’s crucial to protect customers’ personal information.LAPs are comprehensive instructional packages that include all elements of a performance-oriented lesson plan. This LAP includes a student handout (with CopyIT! permission) that includes information about...

Customer service can help a company stand out above the competition and make a lasting impression on customers. Clearly, it’s important for a business’s success! This LAP explains how to focus on customers, use technology, offer great internal service, and study the competition to provide customer service that helps a business thrive. LAPs are comprehensive instructional packages that include all elements of a performance-oriented lesson plan. This LAP includes a student handout (with CopyIT!...

In a teen’s world full of wireless smartphones, headphones, and laptops, warranties and guarantees are important. But what is guaranteed exactly? Do your students understand how warranties and guarantees benefit them and the businesses that provide them? Check out the LAP Promises, Promises (Warranties and Guarantees), with examples from Apple, Craftsman Tools, and Fairfield Inn & Suites, to help your students understand the basics of these agreements, how the law regulates them, and much...

Successful salespeople carefully identify each customer’s personality type and use the appropriate sales techniques to meet the customer’s needs and make the sale. Teach your students how to develop this important selling skill. LAPs are comprehensive instructional packages that include all elements of a performance-oriented lesson plan. Each LAP includes a student handout (with CopyIT! permission) that includes information about addressing needs of individual personalities, a (So What?)...

Part of being a salesperson involves recommending specific products to customers based on their needs and wants. Sounds easy – but it can be more complicated than it seems! In this LAP, students will learn how to recommend products in various tricky situations, such as when the product that a customer requests is out of stock, or doesn’t suit his/her unique needs. In the Gray Zone, students will examine the ethicality of “trading up,” or recommending a product that is more expensive than...

Do your students understand what customer service really means? It’s a lot more than just a department or a business function. Quality customer service can help build partnerships and increase sales, but only if you know how to use it! Teach your students the keys to good customer service with Go Beyond the Sale. LAPs are comprehensive instructional packages that include all elements of a performance-oriented lesson plan. The Complete LAP includes an 8-page, full-color handout for students...

One of the best-recognized and admired brands in the world, Starbucks singlehandedly transformed the ordinary delivery of coffee into a cultural phenomenon--a result of the company’s exemplary leadership practices.Joseph Michelli, author of the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and BusinessWeek bestseller The Starbucks Experience, explains that the international success of Starbucks begins with a promise: To inspire and nurture the human spirit--one person, one cup, and one neighborhood at a...

In-depth, research-based rubric for handling difficult customers includes detailed behavioral anchors and three sample scenarios, making it useful for both assessment and instructional purposes. Use to assess capstone activities, for competitive event preparation, in student career portfolios. Highly recommended for performance-oriented programs.(Teaching in a member state? Rubrics can be accessed free via State’s Connection!) ...

Whenever possible, Industry Direct promotes from within. The human resource director has been assigned the task of filling the position of sales team leader. This person is responsible for the efficient operation of a sales team of 15 to 20 customer service representatives. She will be interviewing six candidates who are currently customer service reps on the sales team. Your students will watch each of the short interviews, evaluate the employees and decide who should be promoted to sales...