CUSTOMER SERVICE EXCELLENCE PROGRAM

Customer service is both a science and an art. Customer service focus is so important for any organization’s survival nowadays that it can no longer be left an “art” and this is why customer service has to a science too. The whole program is geared towards making the science and art of customer service become a culture in Xavier School. The whole program is a two-pronged approach where it installs systems and mechanisms in order to systematize customer service and empowers people with proven front-line skills likewise.

Below is a description of how each day of each of the Phases will unfold:

PHASE 1:

In order to put a framework that will be easy to follow for the participants, the Service Triangle Model will be explained and discussed. The model explains that for the organization to be truly customer focused, it must have a service strategy that is based on what the organization knows about the customer and what is important to the customer, customer-friendly systems and procedures and people who are trained to deliver a high level of customer service. Given that, the objectives of Phase 1 are the following:

1. Agree on a Service Strategy Statement – this statement will state how Xavier School wants to deliver what is important to the customer, how it will differentiate itself when delivering customer needs and what are the values that will guide the customer interaction. The slogan can be culled from the SSS.

2. Customer-friendly Systems and Procedures – major customer service cycles will be identified (customer interactions) and standards along the procedural and personal dimension will be identified and agreed upon. Since internal customer service affects service delivery to the customers, service agreement levels among the departments will also be drawn up.

3. Customer-focused People – competencies (skills, attitude, knowledge, characteristics, personality, etc.) will be identified. These competencies will then be used as basis for developing the specific skills in Phase 3A.

Another output of Phase 1 will be the mechanics of the Customer Service Excellence Reward Program. A general and broad strokes mechanics/procedures have already been developed, hence, the group will simply agree on the specifics (i.e. name of the award, amount of prizes, timing, etc.)

All of the above will be in preparation for the launch of the program on January 4, 2010. In order to entice people into the program, the Reward Program will be the focus of the launch. The Service Strategy Statement and the Customer Service Slogan will be cascaded during this launch.

The consultant and the steering committee will plan how to make the launch more festive and more enticing.

Phase 2: Launch of Customer Service Program

In the original proposal, the launch will be Phase 3 (after the core Customer Service team has been trained). It was agreed however, that year 2010 will open with the launch of the program. The four hour program will be used as the venue to drum up the program. The Service Strategy Statement and Customer Service Slogan will be cascaded during this phase. The mechanics of the reward program will likewise be explained.

In order to empower the employees of Xavier School (to help them become contenders in the reward program), a brief overview of what it takes (attitude, skills, etc.) to serve and satisfy the customer will be discussed. The objective of this phase is for all the employees of Xavier School to have a common understanding of EXCELLENT CUSTOMER SERIVICE.

Phase 3A and B: Legendary Customer Service Skills

The participants of Phase 3A and 3B will comprise the core team of the program. They will be tasked to cascade the customer service skills training to all the other employees of the school. Given this, the participants will be empowered with the skills (Phase 3A) so that they can become the epitome and role model of Legendary Customer Service. Phase 3B will empower them with the necessary course designing skills, facilitation and coaching skills. Phase 3B will likewise discuss with the participants how they can take the program further by measuring customer service and how to track and monitor such.

Phase 3A will equip the participants with communication skills when dealing with the customers on the phone, face-to-face and via email and other written forms. This phase will also impart skills on how to deal with difficult and angry customers. As such, role-play will be maximized during this phase as the objective of this phase is to transfer the skills of legendary customer service.

After Phase 3B, the core participants will have a Training Guide and Trainor’s Manual for the Xavier School’s customer service program. A Customer Service Improvement Plan and Customer Service Monitoring Program will also be drafted.