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Customer Service Excellence ALL Year by Cindy Stradling CSL, CPC

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  • Customer Service Excellence ALL Year by Cindy Stradling CSL, CPC

Customer Service Excellence ALL Year by Cindy Stradling CSL, CPC

Blog
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July 16, 2019

Summer is a difficult time for companies and businesses of every size and in every industry. One of the significant challenges is the use of casual or part-time employees to fill in for full-time employees on vacation. In customer service and public-facing departments in any company, this creates a potential for problems.

Part-time and casual employees, some which may be students working a first job, often do not know what is expected with customer service in a company. They may know the products, understand their job requirements, and even have great sales skills. However, they may not have a good idea of what your company considers a top level of customer care and service. Without this understanding, even the most knowledgeable employee can come across as rude, uncaring, or unhelpful to the customer.

Preventing the Problem

The single most effective way that a business can use to prevent this type of customer service and consumer perception problem is to spend time in training new seasonal, casual, or part-time employees in customer service skills.

This does not need to be long, costly, or complicated training, but it does need to be clear, comprehensive, and focused. There are several elements this training should include to prepare these employees to effectively represent your business to your customer base.

Talk about Customer Service

Customer service training needs to be more than a handbook or an online tutorial that new part-time, seasonal, or casual workers complete. This is an excellent starting point to share the information, but it can easily be something that is done and then forgotten.

Plan to schedule a short meeting and bring the new seasonal and part-time people in to have a talk about customer service. This is an excellent time for supervisors and managers to share what is expected with customer service as well as when and how to get assistance and support if a problem or a challenge occurs when working with a customer.

Consider building in role plays and discussions, and provide concrete examples of how top customer service ties not your company’s values, philosophy, and mission statement. Discussing the “why” of customer service is just as critical as talking and practicing the “how” of interacting with customers.

Build in Support

Managers and supervisors can also be proactive in recognizing top customer service. Recognizing these employees can be a benefit to not just one employee, but also to the others.

Set up a lead person on the floor or in the department, so there is always someone there to consult with if there is a customer care question. This eliminates the new employee from feeling he or she has to make a decision when they are unsure of how to proceed.

The more comprehensive customer service training is, and the more it is a focus of staff meetings or shift discussions, the more it will be front and center in everyone’s mind.

customer service, customers, customers first, service excellence
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Cindy Stradling

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Our Clients Say

We have had the pleasure of working with Cindy Stradling to source several top notch consultants to assist us with the design and delivery of a variety of Learning and Development and HR Programs. This this successful collaboration we have truly appreciated Cindy's very high standards for members of her network, the drive and energy she brings to her work and most importantly her strong commitment to understanding and meeting the needs of her clients.

Deborah A. Fillippe, CHRL VP Human Resources Kenaidan Contracting Ltd.

Cindy has been a terrific resource to Metro! She met with us to clearly understand our needs then provided us with a shortlist of top-quality trainers for us to meet. The whole process was simple and seamless, and it saved us a lot of time in sourcing companies with specific skill sets. She's a pleasure to work with.

Gary Grant, CHRL Director, Talent Management and Training Metro Inc.

Cindy provides a very progressive and engaging training environment. We have seen her successfully provide solutions to companies and individuals from all sectors, from the sophisticated to entry level. The integrity she applies to all aspects of her business is beyond reproach.

Al Diggins President and GM Excellence Manufacturing Consortium

Cindy has been engaged by Express Scripts Canada to provide Presentation Skills training to our management team. Cindy's expertise in this area has been invaluable in supporting our leaders with their leadership development in their presentation styles.

Anthea Gomez Director, Human Resources & Corporate Services Express Scripts Canada

Cindy is the epitome of positive energy! I didn't just work with Cindy at Duplium; I continue to keep in touch with Cindy because she is a wealth of knowledge and always a delight to catch up with. If you need something or someone, just ask her, she will get it done! She embodies the unique combinations of integrity, commitment and resourcefulness. Thank you Cindy for all the times you gave me just what I needed!

Susan Orenbach Senior Human Resources Professional

We engaged Cindy to help us develop a leadership training program and provide our management with one on one coaching. Cindy's professionalism, ability to understand our challenges and develop an innovative, cost effective training program in a timely manner was truly impressive. I recommend and welcome the opportunity to work with Cindy.

Marina Lichtenberg National Manager, Talent Acquisition Canon Canada - "Your gateway to a dynamic career with Canon"

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