About this Course

As service providers, we sometime find ourselves facing or handling "difficult customers". When we have to deliver "bad news", say "no" to customers or to people in power, we're often tempted to placate with a "yes". It is indeed a challenge trying to balance the need to be service-oriented and the need to deliver difficult messages to our customers. This one-day course teaches service providers how to manage difficult customer situations more effectively that work towards joint problem-solving/agreement.

Learning Outcomes:

• Identify what causes customers to be demanding or difficult and the consequences
  
• Recognise and manage your own responses
  
• Develop strategies for managing different types of difficult customers
  
• Gain confidence in handling customers appropriately
  
• Develop communication skills on empathetic listening, defusing conflict/anger, speaking assertively
  

Course Outline:

The Problem Tree Activity: Defining Difficult Customers

• Who are Difficult?
  
• What makes your Customers Difficult?
  
• Differentiating between Upset Customers and Difficult Customers
  

Understanding Different Communication Channels and Their Effect

• Face-to-face Interaction
  
• On the Telephone
  

Assertive Communication

• Ways of relating to others: being passive, assertive and aggressive
  
• Goal of Assertive Communication
  
• Benefits of Assertive Communication
  
• Assertive Self-Assessment
  
• Types of Assertion
  
• Assertive Communication Skills
  

Strategies for Handling Dissatisfaction

• Understanding the nature of Customers’ Problems and Emotions
  
• Managing Our Own Responses
  

Communicating confidently and calmly, under pressure and saying things in the right way

• Listening and Responding with Empathy
  
• Avoiding certain Triggering Words
  
• Defusing Phrases & The Art of Saying No
  

Managing the Extremes

• When and how to address what is unacceptable
  

Recharging Yourself

• Dealing with your own feelings (anger, frustrations and residue of that) after having one difficult encounter before facing the next tricky situation with a clean slate
  
• Exploring how our feelings influence our assumptions, where we make things up and then act as though what we made up is true
  

Who Will Benefit?

This highly participative course is designed for anyone who has regular customer contact (face to face or over the telephone) and wants to develop their skills in delivering great customer service.

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