Total Success

A different type of training

 

For more information:

 email us: tsuccess@dircon.co.uk

call us on (+44) 020 8269 1177 or fax us on (+44) 020 8305 0555

Thank you for visiting Total Success Training

We have a brand new website at www.totalsuccess.co.uk which contains all of our course information

plus

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Free Training resources

A chance to win tickets for Free Training Courses

A chance to be included in our free draw for tickets to Chelsea Flower Show and Royal Opera House

NEWSLETTER: Telephone Skills and Customer Care

DEALING WITH CONFLICT AND AGGRESSION

If you or your staff have to deal with customers both face to face or over the telephone then effective Customer Care training is essential in enabling you to develop a Customer Caring or ‘Customers First’ attitude to delivering service effectively and consistently.

Total Success run a one-day Telephone Skills and Customer Care course for those wishing to learn telephone etiquette; handling customers on the telephone and a one-day Customer ?

For those who’s customer service training requires tips and techniques in both telephone and face to face skills in handling difficult customers (such as rude, angry or aggressive customers) as part of their daily duties we also provide a Customer Service and Customer Care training course that deals with these types of customer. It also covers handling customer complaints; tips for retaining customers and how to diffuse customer conflict quickly and efficiently.

Telephone skills and Customer Care, Customer Service, Introduction to Selling, Telesales and Presentation Skills are some of the courses trained by  Total Success Training in London and throughout the UK. We have over  18 years experience training people on strategies to improve productivity and enhance self development. Other courses run by Total Success are Assertiveness skills and Time Management. If you require further information on our training courses please contact Total Success.

More and more companies are increasing their use of the telephone as the quickest and most convenient way of establishing customer contacts. Call centres and mail order are the fastest growing operational departments for UK organisations. It is essential that all employees represent their organisation in a professional and friendly way. Clear and effective communication is essential to ensure that the business is not lost. If your staff are not trained properly on telephone skills, how much business are they losing your company?

 

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CLICK ON COURSES FOR FULL OPEN COURSE AGENDAS

Appraisal skills (one day) - updated to include new legislation

Assertiveness Skills (one day)

Assertiveness and managing conflict (one day)

Coaching for managers (one day)

Correcting poor performance and disciplinary procedures (one day) - updated to cover current legislation

Dealing with difficult people (one day)

Interviewing skills (one day) - updated to cover current legislation

Introduction to selling (two days)

Leadership and team building (one day)

Letter and report writing (one day) - updates include writing e-mails

Negotiation skills (one day)

Presentation skills (two days)

PowerPoint Presentation skills (two days)

Advanced Presentation skills (one day)

Project planning for non-project managers (one day)

Stress Management (one day)

Telesales and Telemarketing (two days)

Telephone skills and customer care (one day)

Time Management (one day) 

Time management working with Microsoft Outlook (one day)

Time management working with Microsoft Outlook 2007 (one day) 

The New Manager (six days)

Training the trainer (one day)


We provide many free articles packed with valuable information about the topics we train. Our newsletter page contains many more. Here are some of our more recent articles

Presentation tips

Overcoming presentation fear

How to structure a presentation

Interviewing Skills

Good work through praise

Time management tips

Time management skills

Managing your e-mail

Time management and working from home

Assertiveness Self Assertion Analysis

Self Assertion Analysis

Becoming More Assertive

Dealing with difficult people

Customer Service on the telephone

Telephone skills and Customer Care

Managing your stress

Organisational stress management

Practical appraisal skills

Planning an appraisal and setting objectives

Giving feedback in an appraisal

The power of attitude in selling

Opening the call effectively

PowerPoint presentation tips and techniques

Using visual aids in PowerPoint presentations

How to use transitions in PowerPoint presentations

 DEALING WITH CONFLICT AND AGGRESSION

There are some things which we can do in such situations, so that we are more likely to handle them successfully:

 

Be Prepared

You may know a situation is likely to arise from information you already have available. If this is the case, it is important to use this information to anticipate what is likely to happen and how you are going to handle it. Other preparation you can carry out, where you have no prior knowledge of a situation, is to be sure of your facts and policies, e.g. complaints’ procedure.

 

Keep the Situation Calm

By being careful not to overreact to initial comments, you are more likely to understand the problem. It is important you show customers that you understand the problem, and how they feel. Let them know that you can help them and that you want to help them. Focus on the issues concerned and not the personalities as this will help maintain the customer’s self-esteem. Above all, be positive in your handling of the situation.

 

Look For Solutions

Even if a solution is not apparent, keep calm and aim to be positive. Explore possible options, as very often, giving people a choice and getting them to think, will help to calm them down. Encourage the customer’s help in finding an acceptable solution. Try to view each problem as an opportunity.

 

Show You Care

Customers with a difficult situation can be frustrated when faced by an organisation. By responding with empathy and showing you understand, you can demonstrate that you do care about their situation, and that you do want to find a solution. Your aim should be not only to resolve the problems but to make customers feel they have been treated fairly. By staying calm and being professional, you can often resolve such situations. By listening and showing understanding, you will find it much easier to resolve difficult problems.

 

There are three key principles it is important to consider in dealing with difficult situations:

• Maintain or improve the other person’s self-esteem.

• Listen and show you understand the problem.

• Involve the customer in solving any problems.

 

In dealing with such situations, it is useful to have some sort of a framework to follow. This will help you ensure that you cover everything that you need to, and it will provide you with a means of making sure you resolve the problem.

 

Greet the Customer in a Friendly Manner - The way you address a customer can greatly affect your success in dealing with both difficult and routine situations. A friendly manner can gain quick co-operation and lets customers know that you are interested in their needs. In addition, you are setting a positive tone for the rest of the conversation. If you start out on the wrong foot, it will be even harder to win the situation around.

 

Ask For Details of the Customer’s Enquiry - Find out as much as possible about the apparent problem from all available sources. This is an information gathering stage where you need to gain information from the customer through effective questioning. Let the customer understand the relevance of the questions you ask. You cannot help with a situation until you know all the details. Customers who have lost confidence in the organisation may be reluctant to discuss details with you and they may need to be encouraged by your assurances that you can help. Listen and respond with empathy to their situation, and let them know that you want to help.

 

State the apparent problem - If you are giving bad news, or the problem has been brought to your attention by a colleague, you should state the apparent problem. Tip: try to state it from the customer’s point of view. This gives you a starting point and gives the customer a chance to say whether you have understood the problem correctly. It is important to understand exactly what the problem is before you can solve it.

 

Check and indicate you understand the situation - This is an opportunity for you to summarise the situation as you understand it. It will demonstrate to customers that you have been listening, and that you do understand the situation. It will also give customers a chance to add anything that has been missed. A genuine effort on your part to understand their position will enhance their self- esteem.

 

Identify the real problem (if different from the apparent problem) - When you know all the facts, you may feel the apparent problem is not the real one. For instance a spate of customer complaints (the apparent problem) may be caused by a lack of training given to a newly appointed staff member (the real problem).

 

Openly express your position - Let them know that your objective is to satisfy them. At the same time tactfully tell them what you can, and cannot, do. Be careful not to imply that their point of view is wrong. Tactful honesty will give them a clear understanding of what you can do to resolve the situation.

 

Assess the alternatives. - Try to identify all the possible solutions. At this stage do not worry too much about how practical the solutions are, it is important to generate as many possible solutions as you can.

 

Select the best solution - This can be the most complex stage. Very few changes can be made in isolation, and therefore a solution which seems beneficial to you, may have a detrimental effect on someone else in the organisation. Each alternative solution therefore must be carefully weighed against the benefits and possible drawbacks each would provide.

 

Reach agreement on specific actions - There is no point in solving problems unless action is taken to implement the chosen solution. If possible, reach agreement on a final solution. If it’s a problem that cannot be resolved immediately, establish an action plan for solving it, explaining what you propose to do. Where the solution is complex, the action plan is essential, spelling out what is to be done, by whom, and when. Ask for the customers’ ideas, or offer suggestions. By including them you will enhance their self-esteem. Make sure that you both know what will happen next.

 

Thank Customers for Their Co-operation - Let them know that you appreciate their help and co-operation in resolving the situation. Complete the conversation by sincerely thanking them as this will enhance their self-esteem and their satisfaction with the organisation.

 

Such situations may result in a customer wishing to take up the complaint with a manager or even to make a formal complaint. Most organisations will have a complaints’ procedure. In these cases, it is important not to pass any judgement on the situation, but to fully inform the customers of their rights under the complaints’ procedure and of the action they need to take.


 

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OUR PREVIOUS CLIENTS INCLUDE:

 

Thames Valley Police

National Air Traffic Control

Tesco

Luton Borough Council

Legal Services Commission

Remploy

Physiological Society

British Retail Consortium

University of East London

Amnesty International

Hyde Housing

Carbon Trust

Glaxo Smith Kline

Game Conservancy Trust

Serco

Docklands Light Railway

Suffolk County Council

Thale Translink

Tennyson Group

Goldman Sachs

Merseyside Police

Mencap

Renaissance Hotels

Berners Hotel

South East Essex College

Johnson and Johnson

Ernst and Young

Toshiba

London Borough of Greenwich

Direct Line Insurance

Rank Leisure

Epilepsy Society

Lloyds of London

Bank of America

Level 3 Communications

Abbey Life

Thistle Hotels

Tetrapak

Informa Group

Marcus Evans

Legal and General

Nationwide Building Society

Eurostar

HJ Heinnz

Halifax

Barclays Global Investors

BAE Systems

Holmes Place Health Clubs

Action Energy and the Carbon Trust

British Airways

STA Travel

Ernst and Young

London Borough of Greenwich

The Royal Society

Cancer Research

The Film Council

Pfizer

Diageo

London Chamber of Commerce

Metro Newspaper

Universal Pictures

Nestle

London Borough of Lambeth

British Gas

Age Concern

ICI

St John's Ambulance

HOME PAGE BOOKING A COURSE
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TRAINING PODCASTS TRAINING MATERIALS
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CLIENT TESTIMONIALS FREE TRAINING NEWSLETTER FAQs OUR UNIQUE SERVICES CONTACT US

 

TOTAL SUCCESS PAGES:

Site Navigation aid - Links to all our web pages are listed below

 

- Training Pages -

Assertiveness Skills - Assertiveness and managing conflict - Time Management - Management Training / New Manager - Sales Course / Introduction to Selling - Telesales and Telemarketing - Presentation skills - PowerPoint Presentation Skills - Appraisal skills - Interviewing Skills - Stress Management - Leadership and team building - Coaching for managers - Letter and report writing - Dealing with difficult people - Customer Service and Customer Care -Correcting poor performance and disciplinary procedures - Negotiation skills - Training the trainer - Telephone skills and customer care

- Newsletter Pages -

Presentation tips - Overcoming presentation fear - How to structure a presentation - How to master body language plus a useful presentation checklist - Asking questions in interviews - Structuring a recruitment interview - Good work through praise - Time management tips - Time management skills - Managing your e-mail - Time management and working from home - Time management links - Assertiveness Self Assertion Analysis - Assertiveness links - Self Assertion Analysis - Becoming More Assertive - Constructive criticism and disciplinary procedures - Dealing with difficult people - Dealing with difficult customers on the telephone - Customer Service on the telephone - Telephone skills and Customer Care - Managing your stress - Organisational stress management - Practical appraisal skills - Planning an appraisal and setting objectives - Giving feedback in an appraisal - The power of attitude in selling - Opening the telephone call effectively - PowerPoint presentation tips and techniques - Using visual aids in PowerPoint presentations - How to use transitions in PowerPoint presentations - Negotiating with difficult people - Planning a successful negotiation - Managing meetings - Train the trainer training - Presentation planning form - Handling conflict in appraisals - Project management - Neuro-Linguistic Programming - Management skills - Leadership Skills - Stress Management and Control - Customer Service and Customer Care - Management checklists for Training courses - Planning form for Public Speaking Presentation - Managing your e-mails - Stages of Competence in Training - Time Management and Technology - Training Stories and Anecdotes -

- NEW Newsletter Pages -

Stress Quiz: How Stressed are you? - Recognising and Combating stress - Managing Stress - Relaxation techniques for managing stress - Relaxation using simple and personal mantras - Stress and the Credit crunch - Using Humour in Presentations - Attention gaining tips for Public Speakers - How to make the best of closing your presentation - Making Powerful Presentations - Using Visual Aids in Presenting - The importance of FlipCharts in Presentations - Improving your presenting style - Vocal and Diet tips for presenters - Rate you Presentation effectiveness - Dealing with Difficult Audiences - Overcoming Presentation Anxiety - More Presentation Anxiety tips - Dealing with Difficult people at work - Tips for Dealing with difficult people - Dealing with Difficult People-the arrogant person - Dealing with Difficult People-the aggressive person - Customer Service during Christmas - Time and Stress Management - Successful Telesales - What type of leader are you? - Vocal Elements of Communication in Leadership - Managing Pressure - Handling Very Difficult Customers - Opening Negotiations Effectively - Tips and Techniques for Sales Presentations - Rules of Assertiveness - Product Demonstration Skills - Personality and Stress - Handling Objections - Methods of Overcoming Resistance - Effective Communication in Negotiations - Your Response to Stress - Dealing with conflict and aggression - Co-Presenting Tips and Techniques - Controlling the Call - Contact Strategy - Becoming Assertive in Negotiations - Situation Leadership for Coaches - What is your managerial style? - Giving Praise - How great can you delegate 1 - How great can you delegate 2 - Management superstars - Delivering effective course content - Dealing with complaints - Practical guide to punctuation - The sequence of a report - Top tips for writing effective emails - Aims and Objectives for the New Manager - Question Techniques in Group Training - Its not What you say, but How you say it! - How to overcome and channel fear - Why is project management important - Project definition and proposal - Estimating time accurately - 10 step guide for Project Planning - Project Progress Meetings - Assess your problem employee - Disciplinary Procedures Guide - Disciplinary Rules