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Make the Long Wait Feel Shorter - 12/16/25


When Greg entered the Tax Office, he was thinking only about two things: (1) How he was going to get the tax value on his home reduced, and (2) Whether the wait would be 1 hour or 2.  He checked in with the navigator who asked a few questions, Read more

When Kindness Means More in Customer Service - 12/9/25


Since a large part of the work we do at CSS includes customer research, we have seen tens of thousands of comments over the years about staff, and it is great to hear the positives that customers, fans, and account holders say about our clients’ team members. One word that Read more

Don’t Create the Second Complaint - 12/2/25


Maria was upset.  Rightfully so.  The product delivery was delayed, she couldn’t get anybody on the phone, and nobody would reply to her e-mails.  So, she went down to the store, and she found a customer service representative. After the initial greeting, the employee listened to Maria’s complaint.  While Maria Read more

Refresh on the Reasons to Appreciate the Customer - 11/25/25


This is a great time of year to give thanks, not just because it’s Thanksgiving week in the United States, but also because – with 2025 coming to a close - it gives us the opportunity to do some reflecting on the recent past. The idea of reflecting on reasons Read more

Confirm the Customer is Cleared for Takeoff - 11/18/25


An airplane pilot is told when they’re “cleared for takeoff” before they begin to accelerate down the runway.  The air traffic controller (ATC) has looked at everything in front of the pilot, on the runway and in the air space, and checked to ensure the pilot is good to Read more

Build Relationships with First-timers - 11/11/25


We’ve worked with one of our sports clients for over 10 years, and although the main focus of our work is research with their fan base, we also provide informal consulting advice and guidance whenever possible.  One approach we’ve talked about on and off for years is the need Read more

Last Impression Faux Pas - 11/4/25


Rightfully so, many customer service experts harp on the importance of the first impression.  It happens quickly, and it can impact the individual’s perception of you and the organization.  We even wrote a Tip of the Week on this years ago called First Impression Faux Pas. What many people tend Read more

Familying with Customers - 10/28/25


In our transactional society, it’s hard to think about customers in the long-term.  But if we want to be as successful as we can as an individual or as a business, we need to view customers through a relationship lens. What do we need to know about them to Read more

Avoid These Techniques - 10/21/25


We had a Customer Service Tip of the Week recently that addressed gaining control of the conversation.  One of the key points was that the focus should be on gaining control of conversations in various circumstances, but trying to avoid making it your goal to gain control of the Read more

View Quality through the Customer’s Eyes - 10/14/25


Geri had been dealing with backups in the downstairs plumbing system of her house on and off for the past year.  The most recent company that she called in to unclog the pipes stated that they could send a camera down the pipes and tell her exactly where the Read more

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Create a Training Reinforcement Program

Posted on July 6, 2011 in Business Advice Please leave a comment

You just implemented the top customer service training program that the organization has ever undertaken. The session ratings were sky high. The employee feedback was positive. Everyone is energized.

Now what?

In so many organizations, when customer service training hasn’t been done for a while and customer complaints start to rise, management’s answer is often “let’s put everyone through training.” That might be a fine answer. But that would be an incomplete answer.

If we focus purely on part of what training is supposed to do – improve staff service skills, get everyone on the same page in terms of expectations of behavior and focus, and create some motivation – then a solid customer service training program can be considered a success for the short-term. But if you look at what training is supposed to generate in terms of long-term results, there needs to be something more.

As staff and managers move further and further away from the training date, the need to keep the momentum going gets greater and greater.

To make the skills stick, the common focus continue, and the motivation move forward, the organization needs to create a training reinforcement plan. The plan should be focused on tapping into managers and supervisors to set the expectation that they will perform exercises or facilitate discussions with employees that reinforce the skills learned, discussing customer issues, and having staff learn best practices from each other.

There should be a standard frequency of at least monthly, an accountability if supervisors do not reinforce the skills, and a core set of exercises and facilitation guidelines from which supervisors can select and use in their staff meetings.

If you feel good about your customer service training, make sure you implement a reinforcement plan so that your customers will feel good that staff skills will continue to improve.

Make the successes of customer service training stick for the long-term.

Want to discuss how we help clients create a Training Reinforcement Program? Contact me directly via e-mail…

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