Managing Challenges in Customer Service

Overview/Description
 During an average working day in a call center, customer service agents (CSAs) handle dozens of customer calls. The calls may range from simple requests for product information to urgent demands for solutions to complex problems. The callers may range from quiet, logical, and professional in their manner to noisy, impatient, and infuriated. CSAs are expected to meet the challenges of handling all of these calls and customers with speed, skill, accuracy, and composure. This course helps CSAs to manage these challenges successfully. It teaches CSAs effective techniques for handling aggressive callers, such as controlling, outraged, and threatening customers. It also teaches CSAs practical methods of managing nonaggressive but nonetheless difficult callers, such as customers who demand excessive amounts of call time and customers who are either technical experts or technical novices. In addition, this course helps CSAs to develop strategies to manage their time and to cope with the stresses associated with their jobs.

Target Audience
 Customer service agents who are seeking to acquire new skills or to improve their current skills

Expected Duration
5.0 hours

Lesson Objectives:

Handling Aggressive Customers

  • recognize the value of handling aggressive customers effectively.
  • identify examples of controlling behavior.
  • apply techniques to manage the behavior of a controlling customer in a hypothetical call situation.
  • use methods to effectively manage an outraged customer in a hypothetical call scenario.
  • choose examples of techniques for dealing with calls from threatening customers.

    • Dealing with Demanding Customers

  • recognize the benefits of handling demanding customers professionally.
  • match types of time-consuming customers with examples.
  • apply appropriate techniques for handling time-consuming customers in hypothetical call situations.
  • identify examples of methods for handling technical experts.
  • apply methods to handle a technical expert in a hypothetical call.
  • select examples of the methods for handling technical novices.
  • apply the methods for handling a technical novice in a hypothetical call scenario.

    • Coping with Job-related Stress

  • recognize the value of developing strategies to cope with job-related stress.
  • select examples of sources of job-related stress for customer service agents.
  • select examples of job-specific methods of controlling stress.
  • classify examples of common tasks according to their levels of value and urgency.

    • Course Number: CUST0153