A customer service workshop can build enthusiasm, spark useful ideas, and even drive immediate improvements. The real test comes several weeks later.
Has behaviour actually changed?
One problem with traditional customer service training is that it can be treated as an event rather than the start of an ongoing development process. People attend a workshop, return to work and quickly become absorbed by the same pressures, habits and established ways of working.
At the same time, many routine customer enquiries are increasingly being handled through technology and automation. That means the conversations reaching people are often the more complicated, emotional, or unusual ones.
Those situations need more than a script.
They require people to listen carefully, show empathy, stay calm, ask good questions, make sound decisions, and take ownership of what happens next. This is where Emotional Intelligence becomes particularly important.
For example, imagine a customer contacts your business already frustrated because they haven’t been able to resolve an issue through the normal process. An employee may know the correct procedure, but the quality of the conversation will depend on far more than process knowledge. Can they recognise the customer’s frustration without becoming defensive? Can they understand what has happened before jumping to a solution? Can they respond rather than react?
Sustainable customer service development therefore needs three things:
- Practical learning that reflects the conversations employees actually have.
- Regular coaching and feedback so people can reflect on what worked and what they could do differently.
- Ownership so employees are trusted to think rather than follow a script.
A workshop can introduce new ideas, but consistent behaviour develops through application.
As I regularly say:
It’s not what you know. It’s what you apply.
So perhaps the question isn’t simply, “Have we trained our customer service team?”
A better question might be:
“What are we doing to help our people apply that learning when the difficult conversations actually happen?”
You can read my full blog, Why Customer Service Training Doesn’t Work & How To Fix It, here
If you’d like to explore how customer service training, coaching and Emotional Intelligence could help create more consistent customer conversations within your organisation, I’d be happy to have a conversation.
Call me on 020 8337 5937 or email gary@garymorgan.coach.
