Unit 3: Customer Service Skillsets
Customer service workers employ a variety of tools and technologies to discern their customer's needs and wants. Since the flow of customer connections can flood quickly, workers need to be able to multitask effectively and efficiently, manage their time, and network with the co-workers who also serve on their team. In this unit we review these critical skill sets.
Completing this unit should take you approximately 8 hours.
Upon successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
- explain essential customer service skills using the telephone, email, and Internet;
- outline methods for effective time management; and
- propose tactics for productive teamwork.
3.1: Customer Service and Telephone Skills
Read this article on customer service and telephone skills. Be sure to take careful notes to help study for the unit quiz and final exam. Spend 30 minutes visiting the featured customer workplace for examples of effective customer service tactics. If you can find employment listings of interest to you on that website, you may want to take time to investigate.
3.2: Customer Service via E-mail and the Internet
Read this article on customer service through e-mail and the internet. Be sure to take careful notes to help study for the unit quiz and final exam. Spend 30 minutes visiting the featured customer workplace for examples of effective customer service tactics. If you can find employment listings of interest to you on that website, you may want to take time to investigate.
3.3: Teamwork
Read this article on effective customer service teamwork. Be sure to take careful notes to help study for the unit quiz and final exam. Spend 30 minutes visiting the featured customer workplace for examples of effective customer service tactics. If you can find employment listings of interest to you on that website, you may want to investigate those.
3.4: Time, Stress, and Work Health Management
Read this article on self-care for the customer service worker. Be sure to take careful notes to help study for the unit quiz and final exam. Spend 30 minutes visiting the featured customer workplace for examples of effective customer service tactics. If you can find employment listings of interest to you on that website, you may want to investigate those.
Unit 3 Activities
After reviewing the unit materials, please post and respond to the following topics on the discussion forum. Feel free to start your own related posts, and respond to other students' postings as well.
- When talking on the telephone, what techniques have you found useful? What might you do differently based on this unit's readings?
- When communicating over the computer, what tactics have you found useful? What might you add to those based on this unit's readings?
- What are your own most effective ways of managing your time? What tips from this unit might help you do it better?
- Have you ever worked on a team project, either at work, on the job, or just a family task? How did it go? What might you suggest?
- When talking on the telephone, what techniques have you found useful? What might you do differently based on this unit's readings?
Prepare a 300-500 word document as if you were the manager of a customer service department orienting new employees on the best practices in telephone and computer communications, as well as team work effectiveness and personal development. Based on this unit's readings, what are the key suggestions you would offer to help your new employees be effective in their positions? Once you are done with the document, post it to the discussion thread and leave comments on your classmates' work.
Take this assessment to see how well you understood this unit.
- This assessment does not count towards your grade. It is just for practice!
- You will see the correct answers when you submit your answers. Use this to help you study for the final exam!
- You can take this assessment as many times as you want, whenever you want.