"I feel as though I am now armed with the right tools to communicate better with the customer and to show empathy for the customer's issues."
-Ryan Testa, PTC

"[The instructors] know this content to great depth. Lots to be learned from every instant. If we can maintain some of the improvements we will (be) dramatically more effective."
- Oblix, New York

Customer Service:
Converting Conflict into Consensus

Every customer service representative faces the daunting challenge of listening effectively to customers, quickly surfacing their concerns, identifying possible solutions, and retaining the customer’s goodwill. The ability to relate to and communicate with the customer is the foundation of customer satisfaction.

Participants build critical skills to increase customer retention by converting complaints into joint problem-solving sessions. Through techniques to better question and listen to customers, representatives increase their ability to more quickly understand the customer’s concerns, and convey a sense of empathy with the customer’s position. Exercises create practice in responding to common customer situations one the phone, in-person and over the Internet. Actual examples of common customer situations are customized into the materials, exercises and coaching.

The results of this work:

• Build, maintain, and recover relationships with customers.
• Constructively handle complaints.
• Listen to customers in ways that turn them into company advocates.

Specific skills mastered:

• Making the right first impression over the phone, online and in-person
• Paraphrasing and empathic listening to turn negative feedback into deeper understanding and relationship.
• Defusing customer emotions and creating positive outcomes—especially when the answer is "no."
• Implementing a conversation cycle that gets to the root of the problem and quickly provides a solution.
• Building two-way conversations that build consensus on how to move forward

Delivery: Customized formats, including workshops, online, one-on-one coaching and consulting.