Programme overview
Technical depth: Practitioner · Practical mode: Role-play
Introduction
Public bodies and private companies now face the same customer expectations: quick answers, consistent information across channels and courteous handling when something goes wrong. Service quality still varies from one employee, counter or call to the next, and poorly handled complaints escalate into formal grievances, lost customers and reputational damage. This course from Core Concept builds the skills front-line teams need to meet published service standards, communicate clearly and recover dissatisfied customers. Participants rehearse realistic scenarios with structured feedback and leave with a Service Interaction Playbook for their own role.
Course Objectives
- Apply service standards and service charter commitments consistently across face-to-face, telephone and digital channels
- Communicate with customers using active listening, structured questioning and plain-language explanations of procedures and decisions
- Handle complaints through a structured recovery process consistent with ISO 10002 and the LAST model
- De-escalate difficult and emotional interactions using the CARP technique and agreed escalation routes
- Adapt service delivery for vulnerable customers and diverse needs in line with ISO 22458
- Produce a Service Interaction Playbook with scripts, checklists and a personal improvement plan
Target Audience
- Front-line staff serving customers at counters, service centres and branches
- Contact centre agents handling calls, chat and email enquiries
- Customer service team leaders responsible for daily service quality
- Complaints and case-handling officers resolving escalated issues
- Administrative and support staff who deal directly with the public or clients
- Field service staff who represent the organisation at customer premises
Course Outline
Day 1: Service Foundations Across Public and Private Sectors
- Public Service and Commercial Service Expectations Compared
- Service Quality Dimensions with the SERVQUAL RATER Model
- Service Charter and Published Service Standards
- Personal Service Self-Assessment Against ISO 23592 Principles
- Moments of Truth Mapping for Everyday Interactions
Day 2: Service Standards and Complaint Frameworks
- ISO 10001 Customer Satisfaction Codes of Conduct
- ISO 10002 Complaints Handling Process
- ISO 18295-1 Contact Centre Service Requirements
- ISO 10004 Customer Feedback and Satisfaction Monitoring
- ISO 22458 Inclusive Service for Vulnerable Customers
Day 3: Core Communication Skills
- Active Listening and Open, Probing and Closed Questioning
- Plain-Language Explanation of Procedures and Decisions
- Telephone Call Structure: Opening, Diagnosis, Resolution and Close
- Written Service Responses: Email and Chat Templates
- Positive Language Scripts for Refusals and Alternatives
Day 4: Difficult Interactions and Service Recovery
- LAST Model: Listen, Apologise, Solve, Thank
- CARP De-escalation Technique: Control, Acknowledge, Refocus, Problem-Solve
- Transactional Analysis Ego States in Tense Conversations
- Service Recovery Paradox and Recovery Options
- Escalation Matrix and Hand-Off Protocols
Day 5: Role-Play Practice and the Service Interaction Playbook
- Counter Service Role-Play: Incomplete Application
- Contact Centre Role-Play: Angry Repeat Caller
- Vulnerable Customer Role-Play with Observer Checklist
- Service Interaction Playbook Drafting
- Feedback Review and Personal Improvement Plan
Skills You Will Gain
- Customer Needs Diagnosis
- Complaint Resolution
- Service Recovery
- Emotional Situation Management
- Plain-Language Communication
- Inclusive Service Delivery
- Multichannel Service Handling
Why Attend This Course
- Return with a Service Interaction Playbook of scripts and checklists, already rehearsed with feedback
- Handle angry or distressed customers with more confidence and fewer escalations
- Give consistent answers whichever channel the customer chooses
- Practise alongside service staff from public and private organisations in different countries
Conclusion
Customers remember how they were treated long after they forget the transaction itself. The course moves from service expectations and published standards, through the international standards for complaints, contact centres and inclusive service, to the communication skills used in every interaction and the techniques for recovering difficult ones. The final day is rehearsal: realistic role-plays with feedback that produce a Service Interaction Playbook and a personal improvement plan that participants apply from their first day back at work.
