Telephone Skills Training

The telephone skills workshop is a two day ‘in-house’ training event.  Designed to ensure that delegates
examine the concept of excellent customer service, specifically over the telephone. The programme is
designed to modify the telephone behaviour of a whole organisation or department, and is best applied
in-house to a group of mixed levels of staff and managers. They will also examine how they can develop
the right attitude in achieving high levels of customer telephone satisfaction.  

PTS offers a telephone survey using ‘mystery’ callers as part of the customised development of training.   
Where this is done, a full report will be prepared, with recommendations where appropriate.  The training
workshops will then use actual examples from this survey as part of the training.

Programme Content:

WHAT IS GOOD CUSTOMER SERVICE? - Delegates reconsider the definitions of customer
service agreed in any previous training programmes, and commence the process of applying these
definitions to telephone contact with customers.

WHO ARE OUR CUSTOMERS? Ensures that the delegates agree who telephone customers are.

HOW DO OUR CUSTOMERS PERCEIVE OUR SERVICE? - The group agree and practice
the techniques of developing a positive image in telephone contact with customers.

COMMUNICATING WITH CUSTOMERS - The delegates practice and develop their telephone
communication skills, specifically their ability to identify the true wants and needs of callers.

HANDLING, CONTROLLING AND FINISHING TELEPHONE CALLS INCLUDING
THE USE OF TELEPHONE FACILITIES - The delegates identify and develop the techniques,
skills and ‘tricks’ involved in dealing with unnecessarily lengthy callers.

ADAPTING AN ASSERTIVE STYLE - The delegates understand the bases of aggressive
behaviour on the telephone, and begin the process of developing a technique to handle such aggression.

TELEPHONE ANSWERING CONVENTIONS   - To ensure that
the delegates agree and adopt consistent telephone response timings
and formats.

DEALING EFFECTIVELY WITH PROBLEM CUSTOMERS
AND CUSTOMER PROBLEMS - To ensure that the delegates
develop and practice the skills for dealing with complaints and ‘normal’
complaining customers by  telephone.

VEXATIOUS COMPLAINANTS - The delegates will be able to identify, and appropriately handle
the root  causes of aggression, abuse and unacceptable behaviour by customers and others in telephone
calls.

PRIORITISATION - The delegates will recognise the need to apply standard prioritisation techniques
to telephone call management.

COMMUNICATING WITH CUSTOMERS WHOSE FIRST
LANGUAGE IS NOT ENGLISH - The delegates will develop and
agree a basic technique for dealing with telephone calls where language
is a difficulty.

ENSURING COMMON STANDARDS FOR AND BY ALL
STAFF INCLUDING NEW AND TEMPORARY STAFF -
To ensure that delegates  agree the principle of following standard
protocols, conventions and procedures to maximise customer satisfaction in telephone contacts.

The two day programme is available for up to 24 delegates at a cost of £1600 plus VAT.  
Mystery calls and quality reports will be costed separately.

To discuss tephone skills training e-mail Andrew Mason  or return an enquiry form