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...

Successful businesses make customer service a priority. Teach your students about positive customer relations and how they can help their businesses achieve them. LAPs (Learning Activity Packages) 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 What?) discussion of why it's important to learn, ideas (Make it Pay!) for...

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 (Learning Activity Packages) 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 mindset, a (So What?) discussion of why it's important to...

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...

Difficult customers 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 (Learning Activity Packages) 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 handling difficult customers,...

Customers may complain for many reasons, but skillful employees can use complaints as opportunities to benefit the business. This LAP provides a step-by-step guide for doing so. LAPs (Learning Activity Packages) 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 handling customer complaints, a (So What?) discussion of why it's important to learn,...

Customer relationship management involves much more than just software! It includes technology, strategies, processes, and most importantly, people. Teach your students how businesses combine these elements to develop and manage long-term relationships with customers. LAPs (Learning Activity Packages) 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...

Trust matters! 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 (Learning Activity Packages) 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 ethics in customer relationship...

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...

When a customer has to choose between two companies, which one will win out? Often, it’s the one with the best customer service! This LAP explains how focusing on customers, offering great internal customer service, and studying the competition can help create a successful business. LAPs (Learning Activity Packages) are comprehensive instructional packages that include all elements of a performance-oriented lesson plan. This LAP includes a student handout (with CopyIT! permission) that...

Quality customer service is a lot more than just a department. In this informative LAP, students will learn what salespeople can do to go above and beyond while serving customers—increasing their sales and benefitting their business along the way! In the Gray Zone, students will examine the ethicality of a common sales practice—making false promises to a customer to close a sale. LAPs (Learning Activity Packages) are comprehensive instructional packages that include all elements of a...

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...

Make sure you know your customers! Successful salespeople know that in order to sell, they need to identify customer personality types and use appropriate sales techniques. Teach your students how to develop this important selling skill by exploring how to identify and handle different customer personality types. Together, master the power of personality! LAPs (Learning Activity Packages) are comprehensive instructional packages that include all elements of a performance-oriented lesson plan....

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...