The two kinds of customer service training

Two clients asked for customer service training.

Both called it the same thing, but their needs were completely different. One client needed customer service skills training. The other needed service culture training.

The two are very different.

They have different goals. How the training is developed, who facilitates it, and how it's evaluated all vary by type.

The one you choose could have major implications on your business. I'm going to break it down for you:

• What is the difference?
• Why is each type of training important?
• How should you train your team?

What is the difference?

Customer service training is a catch-all term. It generally means helping employees develop the knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) they need to deliver outstanding customer service.

I'll refer to KSAs as "skills" for simplicity.

Customer service skills and service culture training address different skill sets. An easy way to think of it is general vs. specific.

Customer Service Skills training is general.

Customer service skills training helps employees develop the general skills they need to serve customers.

This includes the three essential service skills :

• Rapport
• Understanding
• Solving

General customer service skills are applicable to any industry or situation. You can use off-the-shelf content to train your employees.

For example, over 1,000,000 people have taken my Customer Service Foundations course on LinkedIn Learning. (Now in its third edition.)

As the name implies, it covers the fundamental skills customer service professionals need to serve their customers.

Service Culture Training is specific.

Service culture training helps employees develop the specific skills they need to deliver your unique brand of customer service.

These skills are usually aligned with your customer service vision .

This training spells out exactly how to serve your customers. It should be customized for your organization rather than purchased from a vendor.

The service vision at The Ritz-Carlton is "ladies and gentlemen serving ladies and gentlemen." All Ritz-Carlton associates receive regular training on the vision and other "gold standards " that define the brand's service philosophy.

The training captures the hotel chain's unique service culture.

Let's say you run a software company. It's a completely different business than a luxury hotel chain. You have your own unique culture and way of serving customers.

Rather than copying The Ritz-Carlton, you need service culture training that defines how your customers should be served.

Why is each type of training important?

Both types of training help you build a customer-focused team. Your employees need foundational skills to serve customers. They also need to understand your service culture.

Customer service skills are the foundation. It develops fundamental skills such as:

• Building rapport with customers
• Active listening
• Empathizing
• Communicating effectively
• Defusing customer anger

My free Customer Service Tip of the Week email shares one general skill per week. Thousands of customer service professionals use the weekly email to keep their skills sharp.

Service culture training helps employees deliver your specific brand of service. This includes the vision , brand-specific standards, and steps of service .

For example, In-N-Out Burger has tightly scripted steps of service for cashiers. These steps describe how to greet a guest, take their order, and conclude the transaction.

Cashiers are trained to repeat each customer's order back to them to ensure accuracy. They end the transaction by handing the customer their receipt and telling them, "You'll be guest number _____."

These steps of service help ensure remarkable consistency across In-N-Out's hundreds of locations.

How should you train your team?

The two types of customer service training are designed and delivered in different ways.

Start by completing a needs assessment to determine what type of training your employees need.

As a reminder:

• General skills: customer service skills training
• Brand-specific skills: service culture training

Do your employees even need training? Find out with this guide .

Next, build or acquire the training you need. How you do that depends on the type of training you want.

Customer Service Skills

You can save time and money by acquiring off-the-shelf customer service skills training. There are many LinkedIn Learning courses available to fit different needs.

• Customer Service Foundations
• Working with Upset Customers
• Serving Internal Customers
• Phone-Based Customer Service
• Managing Customer Expectations

Off-the-shelf courses can be quickly customized to fit your team.

Let's say you want to help your team better serve upset customers. You can use this facilitator's guide to tailor the Working with Upset Customers course to your team's specific needs.

Service Culture Training

Service Culture Training has to be customized. You can use this step-by-step guide to build your own or hire an instructional designer to help you.

I recommend Idea Learning if you need an instructional design team.

Facilitate the Training

Customer service training should always have a facilitator. Even training videos and e-learning courses need a facilitator to help participants apply what they learn.

That's because training is more than just consuming content.

Employees need to apply their new skills on the job. And when they do, they'll likely need coaching and feedback to turn those new skills into habits.

A facilitator can make a training video really come to life. See an example from this facilitator's guide .

Do you need an internal or external facilitator?

Should the facilitator be an employee or an external contractor? This might surprise you, but I almost always suggest using an internal facilitator.

One challenge is external facilitators show up to train, then go to the next gig. An internal facilitator is more likely to be available to help employees apply what they learn and continue their development.

You need to plan for long-term sustainability. (There's also the 70-20-10 rule to consider.)

An internal facilitator is essential for service culture training. Internal employees know the culture better than an external facilitator ever will. They're also there day in and day out.

Can an outside perspective help?

Yes. My clients hire me as a keynote speaker to augment the training they're already doing. It creates a memorable experience and reinforces my client's internal training.

Conclusion

There are two types of customer service training. What type you choose depends on the type of skills your employees need:

• General skills: customer service skills training
• Brand-specific skills: service culture training

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