Time and time again, we see evidence that great customer service experiences are critical in maintaining customer loyalty and satisfaction. According to research conducted in 2015 by Aspect Cloud Solutions, 76% of respondents see “customer service as a ‘true test’ of how much a company values them.”
And customer service training is vital to maintaining excellent customer relations. But not every team has the resources or time to create their own training regime. When hiring new recruits with a range of customer service backgrounds, it can be hard to know if everyone is equipped with similar—or wildly different—approaches to customer service. Combine this with the ever-expanding presence of global teams, and there’s huge potential for inconsistencies and communication issues.
Well-trained operators mean better customer satisfaction. Here we offer 12 essential tips for live chat operators to communicating effectively, addressing customer issues efficiently, and representing your brand professionally.
Download FreeLuckily, there are many customer service training programs, both on-site and online, that can help you train your team and equip them with vital customer service skills. We’ve compiled a comprehensive list of the best courses out there, ranging from free online courses to pricier, on-site seminars that bring learning straight to your office.
Pick the course that fits your companies time, budget, and learning needs, and you have nothing to lose. We’ve ranked the following courses in order of cost to save you some trouble.
Image source: ALISON
Cost: Free
Duration: 1-2 hours
Audience: Beginners
Delivery: Online
ALISON is a self-proclaimed global online learning community with over seven million students worldwide. The organization is able to provide free learning content through paid advertisement, as well as by offering paid certificate options for interested students.
The course, Customer Service Training, “introduces the basic concepts of customer service and dives into effective customer service techniques and practices.” It promises to benefit anyone who deals directly with customers – from customer service agents to hospitality managers, to e-Business professionals. This course contains no video or audio components, and requires students to receive an 80% or above on each assessment to be eligible for certification.
Image source: edX
Cost: Free
Duration: 2-3 hours a week for 8 weeks
Audience: All levels
Delivery: Online
edX is another internet-based learning platform with an academic edge. In the recommended course presented by the University of Kyoto, students will delve into several academic disciplines (including anthropology, sociology, and philosophy), in order to understand customer service as a cultural phenomenon that teams can consciously manipulate to their advantage.
The course, Culture of Service: New Perspective on Customer Service Relation, includes video lectures and discussion board forums—currently archived, you can use the course material to study independently, or sign up to be notified about the next enrollment date in order to take the class in real time with other global students.
Cost: Free
Duration: 1 hour
Audience: Beginners
Delivery: Online
The course by eLearning company, GlobalMindset, is offered through Latitude U, the self-proclaimed, “first completely open on-line e-Learning community where any person or organization can share, sell, or acquire learning and knowledge.”
With a 4 ½ out of 5 star rating, Customer Service Excellence is a self-paced course that uses interactive drag-and-drop features and active feedback that can help students obtain top-notch customer relationship management skills.
Cost: Free
Duration: 9 or 11 weeks
Audience: Intermediate to advance
Delivery: Online
The course, Customer Service, while free, isn’t for the absolute beginner. Success in Customer Service by Vision2Learn, an online education platform, will earn you a Level 2 Certificate in Customer Service.
This course is longer than your typical, free customer service training course, and each unit contains assessments that require you to demonstrate your knowledge as it pertains to each subject area. Perfect for a mid-level customer service agent who needs to brush up on a few key concepts.
Image source: Lynda.com
Cost: Free with Lynda.com trial
Duration: 45 minutes
Audience: All levels
Delivery: Online
Lynda.com is an award-winning online education and training platform that focuses on computer, software, and business-related skills. A membership with Lynda.com gives you access to thousands of courses that can help you and your staff obtain a vast array of skills.
The course, Innovative Customer Service Techniques, is delivered by thought leader and customer service expert, Jeff Toister (learn more about him and other top customer service influencers in our blog post, Top 20 Customer Service Experts to Follow on Twitter Right Now). It focuses on “thinking outside of the box”, which is sure to help innovative companies maintain healthy customer relations in new and exciting ways.
Cost: Free with trial
Duration: Each course within 30 minutes
Audience: All levels
Delivery: Online
BLR Training Today offers online education programs for both supervisors and employees in a comprehensive training library. With a range of workplace topics such as environmental compliance and project management, BLR Training Today addresses a diverse set of needs for a large number of different service industries.
The Training Today library also allows supervisors to monitor employee progress on courses and to print out certificate awards. For those interested, Training Today offers a free trail.
Image source: The Training Bank
Cost: Free with trial
Duration: 1 hour
Audience: Beginners
Delivery: Online
The free course, Customer Service: The Basics, is developed by the Canadian-based, international training firm The Training Bank, and is a great refresher or starting point for new teams. Although only an hour in length, the free customer service training course includes an interactive video portion and a free, 38-page study guide to help walk you through the four comprehensive modules.
If you enjoy their free course, you can even train with The Training Bank further utilizing their certificate-level training program, Maximizing the Customer Experience. This upper-level course offers additional value in the form of a study guide and personal action plan—a great package for agents who want to take their customer service skills to the next level.
We also have some expert advice for your reference from the CEO of The Training Bank, a veteran trainer, on issues about training that might interest you.
Cost: $50-$75
Duration: 6 months
Audience: Beginners
Delivery: Online
Universal Class is a paid online learning platform that features a large array of learning courses: from Sensitivity in the Workplace to Children’s Birthday Parties 101. Accredited as an Authorized Provider by the International Association for Continuing Education and Training (IACET), Universal Class may be the right choice for a company looking for official credentials to back their course up.
The Customer Service 101 course focuses on creating a great customer service culture rather than just a good one, and focuses on exceeding customer expectations to inspire loyalty. The course contains 15 lessons as well as instructor feedback and smartphone compatibility.
Cost: $150
Duration: 10-15 hours
Audience: All levels
Delivery: Online
Though Online Customer Service Training isn’t free, it may be worth the investment considering the tuition gets you access to ten different courses, ranging from Telephone Etiquette to Stress Control.
Customer service supervisors and trainers can also get access to free training materials by completing the training courses themselves with passing scores. However, agents can take the courses directly online if your supervisors have their hands full with other, more pressing matters.
Cost: $199+
Audience: All levels
Delivery: Online and on-site
Corporate Strategies by SkillPath provides seminars, workshops, and conferences for those seeking professional development. With on-site and online options, Corporate Strategies can teach your employees both hard and soft skills to help them develop their professional presence within your organization.
In Customer Service Training, the on-site course, Corporate Strategies describes customer service as, “a unique combination of skills, techniques and methods that the most dramatically successful customer service operations all share.”
Online teams shouldn’t feel left out: Corporate Strategies also offers an affordable live webinar entitled, Becoming a Customer Service Superstar.
Cost: £15 – £995
Audience: All levels
Delivery: Online and on-site
Established in 1995, Total Success Training offers both open-training courses and on-site training that range from negotiation to time management skills.
Offering online and on-site training options, the Customer Service and Customer Care course is, “designed for anyone who has both face to face and telephone contact with customers and is written with both the customer and the organization in mind to maximize service and customer care.”
Cost: £375
Duration: One day
Audience: All levels
Delivery: On-site
Reed.co.uk is a UK-based recruitment agency that claims to be the first UK agency to offer a recruitment website in 1995. With services for both job seekers and recruiters, reed.co.uk offers a number of training programs to bolster and refine professional skills. With training centers in London, Birmingham, and Manchester, tailored-training is also available at your office.
The Exceptional Customer Service course focuses on delivering consistent excellence in the customer service arena.
Cost: $1,695+
Duration: One day
Audience: All levels
Delivery: Online and on-site
The American Management Association (AMA) is a not-for-profit organization that offers a variety of corporate training and consultancy services. AMA provides on-site and online training, as well as training events in a large number of cities throughout the United States.
The Customer Service Excellence: How to Win and Keep Customers course(available in select U.S. cities as well as on-site), “gives you the skills you need to communicate professionalism, gain respect, enhance customer relationships and secure an overall competitive advantage through customer service excellence.”
Cost: $1500-$2600
Duration: 90 minutes or 7-hour full day
Audience: All levels
Delivery: Online and on-site
Bonfire Training is a corporate coaching company with over 30 years of experience; it offers both on-site and remote training options for your customer service training needs.
The Customer Service Essentials course focuses on customer service fundamentals, as well as topics like conversational control and handling irate callers.
Image source: Business Training Works
Cost: $3500-$4500+
Duration: Half-day
Audience: Intermediate to advance
Delivery: Online and on-site
Business Training Works ®, Inc. has been providing on-site and online training for Fortune 500 companies, as well as government, education, and small business clients since 2000.
The Customer Service Refresher course is a 3-hour workshop that focuses on skills such as, developing confidence and communicating more effectively. Business Training Works also offers an online training course that spans 90 minutes for $49.95. They also offer a course entitled, Let’s Chat: Customer Service Skills for Online Service and Sales Representatives, which is offered as both a webinar ($1500-1875) and on-site training ($3500-$5500).
Whether your budget is big or small, or whether you have an hour or six months, there’s something on this list for your customer service team. What resources do you use to help train your customer service agents? Be sure to share in the comments below.
Well-trained operators mean better customer satisfaction. Here we offer 12 essential tips for live chat operators to communicating effectively, addressing customer issues efficiently, and representing your brand professionally.
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Carla Jerez is a senior content writer at Comm100. She has a degree in Creative Writing from Florida State University and has years' experience writing for the SaaS industry. When she’s not writing, she’s reading, traveling, or playing around on Photoshop. Connect with her on LinkedIn.
