We stand with Ukraine.Customer Service Secrets of Successful IT Professionals: How to Master IT Customer Service
Reduce staff turnover and increase productivity and profits with the Compassionate Geek customer service training program. Our IT customer service training focuses on improving both the customer service experience and the IT team culture of a company.
Our self-paced training identifies best practices for customer care and provides real-world scenarios that IT professionals experience when they encounter a frustrated customer or teammate.
CIOs, IT managers, and MSP owners: Learn how Compassionate Geek IT customer service training will help you improve the level of service and improve your customer effort score.
Groups of 10 or more? Click here for a special package offer.
Certification
Upon completion of this course, you will earn a certificate that verifies you have completed the training and are knowledgeable in the skills and techniques required to provide exceptional customer service and support. It shows that you understand how to listen effectively to customer and end-user concerns, use emotional intelligence skills to manage difficult customer interactions, and use interpersonal communication skills to build and maintain relationships with customers and coworkers.
Course Structure
This training course is designed to be completed in approximately six hours. Individual learning times can vary greatly. Some learners can complete it in as few as three hours, others may take considerably longer. Training content is listed below.
- 115 Steps in This Course
- 10 Sections
- 9 Quizzes
- 55 Videos
- 110 Total minutes of video
- Completion time: 3 to 6 hours, depending on the learner.
Learning Objectives
At the end of this online technical training for IT professionals you'll be able to:
- Identify the five principles of IT customer service
- Know the 10 techniques to be a better listener
- Use emotional intelligence (EI) to provide better customer service, improve relationships, and manage your stress
- Handle customer complaints and angry customers (rude or abusive end-users) for positive results
- Say no without alienating the other person
Losing customers due to poor customer service is expensive. Losing key employees due to negative experiences is also expensive. The best teams focus on excellent service to customers and care for each other.
Based on the book The Compassionate Geek.
Reference
"Every person who works for me MUST go through Don’s online IT Customer Service training course. I win new business because owners are frustrated with other IT companies who: have proven to be undependable, can’t prevent issues; are slow to resolve problems or even show-up, and who have repeatedly proven that they don’t have the right mix of COMPASSIONATE GEEKS and technology to BETTER their business. While my competitors look cheap on paper their true cost is WAY too expensive."
Drayton Mayers, President
TeamLogic IT East Memphis
Enrollment Tuition Rates
| Number of Learners | Discount | Cost per Seat |
| 1-4 | 299.00 | |
| 5-24 | 10% | 269.10 |
| 25-49 | 20% | 239.20 |
| 50-99 | 30% | 209.30 |
| 100-499 | 50% | 149.50 |
| 500+ | 60% | 119.60 |
What's the difference between Enroll Your Team and Enroll Yourself? There's no difference in the training. With Team Enrollment, you can enroll multiple learners at the same time, plus you get the Group Management Console. With Individual Enrollment, you don't get the Group Management Console and you can enroll only one person at a time.
Course Outline and Sample Lessons
Module #1: The Five Principles of IT Customer Service Success
Within most organizations, there are some people who simply “get it”. They seem like they were born to provide excellent customer service. In this section, you’ll examine the five principles a service professional uses to deliver great IT customer service.
- Deep Tech Skills
- Empathy
- Compassion
- Listening
- Respect
This section includes an interactive exercise with other students and the instructor utilizing comments on the lessons.
Module #2: Practical Emotional Intelligence for IT Pros
Emotional intelligence includes the ability to identify and use emotions (both yours and those of other people) to produce successful outcomes in your dealings with other people. In this section, you’ll learn:
- Emotional maturity
- Controlling your own emotions
- How to influence the emotions of others
- Two techniques for maintaining your calm state-of-mind
- How to respond appropriately to emotions in others
Watch these two examples, demonstrated by actors, of emotional intelligence. The first is an example of bad EI skills and the second is an example of good EI skills.
Module #3: What to Do When the User Isn’t Right (Dealing with Difficult Customers)
We’ve all heard the saying, “The customer is always right.” The problem is that they’re not always right and sometimes they’re just downright rude or even abusive. 70% of customer loss is due to perceived indifference. In this section, you’ll learn five valuable techniques for disarming unreasonable or abusive end-users (angry customers) and finding common ground.
- Dealing with anger
- What users and customers really want
- The secret to cooperative conversations
- A sequence for handling user or customer calls
- How to respect your customers’ and users’ valuable time
Module 4: The Fine Art of Listening Well
The objective of listening is to achieve understanding. When we listen to understand and remember, we are better able to truly help our end-user. In this section, you’ll learn how to move from “pretend” listening to truly “empathic” listening—a key skill to understand and build good relationships with customers.
- The five levels of listening
- How to achieve empathetic listening
- How to achieve active listening
- Ten keys to being a good listener
- Problematic listening habits
Module 5: Making Sure They Know You Care
IT people do care about doing a good job and taking care of customers. Often, however, customers and coworkers may not perceive that you care. In this session, you’ll learn critical skills for making sure that your helpful attitude comes across using simple techniques that can make a big difference.
- The three components of communication
- How to avoid conversation breakdown
- Keeping the call positive
- Why you must remain positive and upbeat
- Tips and tricks to convey optimism
Watch a Sample Lesson
Watch this video from a lesson on how to handle a customer call. (The lesson also includes a video showing how NOT to handle such calls!)
Module 6: Fundamentals of Business Writing (How IT Pros Can Get Their Message Across)
Written communication is a crucial skill and at the core of today's workplace operations. Clear and efficient writing skills are critically important for career success. In this session, participants will learn 12 rules of email etiquette for effective email communication, how to use chat and texting in the workplace, and when an old-school hand-written note is appropriate. You will also learn rules for persuasive proposals and reports that will actually get read! This section also includes two lessons on how to use Slack, Teams, or other collaboration platforms successfully.
The workplace runs on written communication. Most people do it poorly. Effective written communication is easy and highly effective.
In this section, you'll learn:
- 12 rules for written communication
- Three powerful techniques to turbocharge your emails
- How to create a great chat experience for your customer
- When and when not to use texting
- A powerful free tool to up your writing game
- Best practices when using Slack, Teams, or other collaboration platforms
Module 7: How to Say No Without Alienating the End-User
Sometimes you come to some difficult situations where what the end-user wants simply can’t be done. When that happens, the skillful desktop support staffer delivers the news in a way that is clear, yet non-offensive. Alternatives, when available, may be offered, but the key lies in finding a way to say no without leaving the end-user feeling neglected or ignored.
- When to say “no”
- Considerations before saying “no”
- Dealing with difficult end-users or customers
- Why some situations go wrong
- What happens when we make a mistake?
Watch a Sample Lesson
Watch this sample lesson on what to do (or NOT do) when you have to say no to a customer.
Module 8: Stress Management and Self-Care for IT Pros
IT jobs can be stressful, even when everything is running fine. Stress levels can go through the roof when a system goes down. In this section, you’ll learn practical, down-to-earth techniques for dealing positively with the inevitable stress of a desktop support position.
In this section, you'll learn:
- How to recognize the two types of stress and which of the two can be a problem
- How to use the stress management equation to manage your stress
- What is in your control and what is not
- Personal stress activators that can cause you to feel stress
- Practical tools for self-care in times of stress
Watch a Sample Lesson
Watch this sample lesson on how to deal with stress at work.
Online Customer Service Training Frequently Asked Questions
What are the delivery options?
This course is delivered in an online, on-demand format.
Do I Earn a Certificate?
Upon completion of this course, you will earn a certificate that verifies you have completed the training and are knowledgeable in the skills and techniques required to provide exceptional customer service and support. It shows that you understand how to listen effectively to customer and end-user concerns, use emotional intelligence skills to manage difficult customer interactions, and use interpersonal communication skills to build and maintain relationships with customers and coworkers.
How long does the online training take to complete?
It varies greatly, depending on the learner. The course is designed to be completed in six hours. It's possible, however, to get through the entire course in about three hours. For learners who are more curious and committed to self-improvement, it could take eight hours or more.
This training is appropriate for any individual or group of IT staff members who want or need to improve their customer service skills, including their listening skills, their ability to deal with challenging end-users, their ability to work well with co-workers, and their people skills in general.
Are there any prerequisites?
We recommend that managers and supervisors prepare their team members for this training by explaining the importance of customer service, that even people who are exceptional at customer service can improve, and that this particular training was designed and written by an IT person specifically for IT people.
