The Customer Service Pathway can be found in the Professional Development Pathways Organization in Blackboard.

Purpose

This pathway indicates that a university employee has specialized knowledge to do the following:

• Apply general customer service concepts to specific work-related challenges
• Listen effectively to recognize customer needs
• Respond appropriately to customer needs, frustrations, and complaints
• Demonstrate professionalism, courtesy, and responsiveness when interacting with customers
• Use customer service skills and techniques to create a customer-focused experience

Core Courses

Polishing Your Skills for Excellent Customer Service 

In this course, you'll learn how to enhance your interactions with customers to project service excellence. You'll explore how to establish effective customer relationships that involve customers in problem solving. Finally, you'll discover how to improve communication for a better client service (CS) in a cross-cultural customer support center or help desk environment.

Facing Confrontation in Customer Service 

In this course, you'll learn about typical trouble spots in dealing with angry customers and guidelines for avoiding conflict. You'll also learn how to handle a customer complaint by defusing the tension, investigating the problem, and coming to an agreement on a solution.

Rapport Building in Customer Service 

In this course, you'll learn how to improve client service (CS) by building rapport with customers. It covers paying close attention to customer needs, connecting with the customer, and being positive. You'll also learn how to empathize with customers by relating your own experiences, reflecting their emotions back to them, and normalizing their difficulties.

Communicating Effectively with Customers 

This course explains how to adapt to the different communication types and identify the common emotions that customers experience when contacting a support center. It also explains how to adapt your writing skills to communicate through e-mail and to document incidents.

 

Elective Modules

 

Providing Effective Internal Customer Service 

In this course, you'll learn about types of internal customers and how to identify internal customer relationships. You'll also learn about the importance of getting to know your internal customers, identifying their expectations of you, and taking action on those expectations. Finally, you'll learn guidelines for providing internal customer service excellence.

Providing Telephone Customer Service 

In this course, you'll learn basic etiquette tips for answering, managing, and ending client service (CS) calls. You'll also learn how to make a good impression by listening, using questions to probe for more information, minding your tone, and empathizing with the customer. Finally, you'll learn ways of reflecting or adapting to your customer's style.

Creating Effective Social Customer Service 

In this course, you’ll learn about the importance of using social media for customer service, the changes brought about by social customer services, and how companies are adapting to this new way of addressing customer issues. You’ll also learn how changes in the behavior and expectations of customers have impacted customer service and become familiar with the advantages of social customer service for businesses, gaining an understanding of the importance of other digital tools to support your customers.

Dealing with Customer Service Incidents and Complaints 

This course is intended to show the proper procedures and processes needed to provide an efficient client service (CS). It covers how to improve customer relationships to reduce conflict and enable service excellence. You'll also learn how to provide accurate documentation for incident reporting.

Designing Customer Service Strategy 

In this course, you'll learn about techniques used to shape the direction of customer service in an organization, including mapping, researching, taking action on, and evaluating moments of truth. You'll also learn how to develop and implement a customer service strategy to achieve service excellence.

Keeping Business Calls Professional 

In this course, you'll learn about some basic rules of etiquette that will help improve your phone skills and keep your business calls professional. You'll explore general best practices, and how to make and receive calls professionally. You'll also learn some best practices for using a cell or smart phone, and how to record and leave effective voicemail messages.

Making an Impact with Non-verbal Communication 

In this course, you’ll learn how our attitude and tone, as well as body language such as posture, gestures, and facial expressions, can have significant impact on the way we communicate. You’ll explore techniques to help you project a positive attitude and presence. You’ll also discover how to read other people’s body language.

Controlling Conflict, Stress, and Time in a Customer Service Environment

In this course, you'll learn how to identify and resolve conflict, negotiate with customers, and develop strategies to better manage time and stress, and you'll explore how a positive approach and attitude can benefit client service (CS).