Updated: December 12, 2023

21 Best Customer Service Training Programs in 2024

Here is our list of top customer service training programs.

Customer service training programs are courses or certifications that equip employees with the skills, knowledge, and techniques to enhance customer satisfaction. The skills learned from these training programs help employees find solutions, answer questions, and communicate better with clients. Examples include guest service and hospitality training, customer care skill training, and customer relationship management. These activities aim to build better brands and client relationships through clearer communication, emotional intelligence, and leadership skills.

These courses are a form of professional development activity and a corporate workshop. Service reps can also improve by reading customer service books, customer experience books, and customer success books.

This list includes:

  • free customer service training programs,
  • online customer service training programs,
  • customer service training programs for employees,
  • customer service training classes
  • customer service workshops

Here we go!

List of customer service training programs

Impressive customer service is an inexpensive way to generate good word of mouth, often leading to new business. Here is a list of programs to improve customer service skills among employees.

1. Handling Complaints From Customers

This course teaches your employees how to handle difficult situations with clients, such as frustration and complaints. The program also teaches students that customer complaints and frustration can be an opportunity to earn loyalty if you deal with the issue properly. In part of the program, your employees will learn how to handle negative reviews professionally and turn complaints into positive outcomes.

No company is perfect, so you are bound to have occasional complaints and negative feedback. Handling Complaints From Customers can help train your staff to de-escalate tense interactions and help customers have a great experience.

Learn more about Handling Complaints From Customers.

2. Guest Service in Tourism and Hospitality

Top-notch customer service is necessary for the hospitality and tourism industries since clients want to have fun and relax. Customer reviews can build or break your business in the service industry. Therefore, you should train your workforce in the latest customer service skills, which is what online customer service training programs like Guest Service in Tourism and Hospitality aim to achieve.

In this free course, your employees learn the basics of good customer service. This program benefits customer-facing employees, and the executive teams that design and manage experiences.

The training tackles how workers should act in different situations to make the interaction memorable for guests. Since the program is available on desktop and mobile, you can stop the lessons and continue anytime. This flexibility means your employees can pace themselves during the course.

Learn more about Guest Service in Tourism and Hospitality.

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3. SkillPath’s Communication Course

SkillPath’s Communication Course teaches staff key lessons about communication techniques and essential customer service skills. In this course, you will learn technical writing, negotiation, and active listening skills. Additionally, the lessons cover skills such as presentation ability and diplomatic discussion.

Learning the intricacies of communication helps you gather and pass information more effectively. Better communication also streamlines workflow, prevents unnecessary conflicts, and increases productivity. You can choose to learn this course online or on-site.

Learn more about SkillPath’s Communication Course.

4. Customer Service Management

Customer Service Management is an advanced customer relationship management course. The course instills an in-depth understanding and awareness of the newest developments in customer service.

Managing customer service is a great skill to have under your belt if you are an employee. Employees in any industry that works with customers or delivers a service or experience are bound to need these skills and benefit from this course.

Learn more about Customers Service Management.

5. Dealing with Difficult Customers Training Course

Dealing with challenging customers or clients is a usual part of any customer-facing role. However, even if your customers or clients are not problematic, unexpected issues may still arise. Dealing with Difficult Customers Training Course equips you and your coworkers with the crucial skills you need to navigate dicey situations and reach a positive outcome.

In this course, you will learn the psychology of human functioning, emotional intelligence, and a holistic approach to managing challenging behaviors. As a result, you will come out of this course better equipped to work in teams and satisfy clients.

Learn more about the Dealing with Difficult Customers Training Course.

6. Brentwood Customer Service Course

Brentwood Customer Service Course contains customer service training classes that last approximately 20 hours. The course focuses on six topics: basic understanding of customer service, creating relationships with customers, and reaching customer expectations.

As a business owner, this course is useful for teaching your employees how to analyze and react to employee feedback. However, this program only focuses on basic knowledge and works better when combined with more advanced programs.

Learn more about Brentwood Customer Service Course.

7. The Bar World of Tomorrow

The Bar World of Tomorrow was created by EdApp and industry big names like the Sustainable Restaurant Association, Trash Tiki, and Pernod Ricard for bartenders. In this course, recipients will undergo 13 microlessons to become part of a more inclusive and greener industry.

The course starts with a lecture on the understanding of customer service in restaurants. Then, you will learn the importance of product curation and brand knowledge. An exciting aspect of this course is that the course addresses the unique challenges of the post-pandemic world. This course is available in English, Spanish, and Chinese.

Learn more about The Bar World of Tomorrow.

8. Customer Care Skills

This training program is an excellent way for your employees to build essential customer techniques and skills to guarantee customer satisfaction. This course includes free customer service training programs delivered through long-form videos. The program modules divide into five parts, with a quiz at the end of each component.

You need at least an 80% score on your commutative assessment to pass this course. Although this course is free, you must purchase the certificate.

Learn more about Customer Care Skills.

9. Customer Service Management Certification Program

For many customer service representatives professionals who want to grow in their career, becoming a customer service manager is usually the next step. Therefore, if you are looking for the right skill to get that promotion or switch jobs, this training program will work for you.

This course delves into the basics of becoming a customer success manager. Every lesson you take will be one hour long and touch on different aspects of business management and customer service. Some topics you will learn in this 16-part course include preventing customer churn, driving customer advocacy, and creating customer goals. The Success League runs this program.

Learn more about Customers Service Management Certification Program.

10. ITIL (Information Technology Infrastructure Library) Training and Certification

As a member of an internal IT support team in a business, completing the ITIL may be a good idea. This course is a widely recognized program that many customer representatives in IT get at entry-level in their careers. ITIL training gives you insights into the link between IT and business strategy. You also learn how to improve your service skills to increase productivity for your company.

Skill Soft runs this program, and Axelos recognizes it. There are different levels in the ITIL certification scheme, such as ITIL foundation, ITIL practitioner, ITIL intermediate, ITIL expert, and ITIL master. Each group will determine the areas they cover and the difficulty level for the course.

Learn more about ITIL (Information Technology Infrastructure Library) Training and Certification

11. Positive Scripting

As a healthcare practitioner, delivering bad news to patients and relatives of patients will never be easy. Delicate news should be conveyed in the most compassionate and empathic way possible. Poor delivery can worsen the sting.

This program gives practical strategies on how to deliver bad news. Also outlined in the course are common mistakes when sharing the message and how to avoid those mistakes. If you run a clinic of any kind, your workers will benefit from this program provided by EdApp.

Learn more about Positive Scripting

12. Support Professional Training

Support Professional Training is a great way to improve your capabilities as a technical support representative providing high-quality service. In this program, you will learn how to communicate technical solutions effectively when needed. Typically, technical terms can be difficult to explain, even if customers understand the concept. Thus, clearly communicating technical solutions is very important.

Service Strategies offers this program and gives you three ways to learn the course: online, public, or on-site. If you choose online, then you can control the pace at which you learn from anywhere in the world. If you pick, then on-site Service Strategies will send an instructor to your business to teach the program. For public training, you will go to a designated location and learn in groups of 15.

Learn more about Support Professional Training.

13. The Power of Empathy

EdApp offers free customer service training programs such as The Power of Empathy. In this course, you will learn the different communication components, such as body language and tone. The course also covers aspects of empathy, such as challenging prejudices, cultivating curiosity, listening to others, and discovering commonalities. You will also learn the difference between sympathy and empathy and when to use each.

As a worker who deals with clients directly, empathy is a must if you are to provide top-notch services. For employees in the health sector, this trait is very crucial. Empathy will help you relate better with patients and, as a result, give better treatment. This action can also lead to better treatment outcomes and customer loyalty.

Learn more about The Power of Empathy and read about ways to show empathy at work.

14. Selling Strategies & Interacting with Customers

Selling Strategies & Interacting with Customers teaches you to transform customer loyalty and interaction into successful sales. This course starts from the basics, such as learning how to greet your clients properly to set the tone. Then you will learn how to ask the right questions to sustain the customer’s interest.

The course also explores focusing on the value propositions of your goods or services. This program will benefit you if you are a marketer of any kind, such as a telemarketer or even a real estate agent.

Learn more about Selling Strategies & Interacting with Customers.

15. Telephone Customers Service

Telephone Customers Service is great for businesses that rely on the telephone to connect with customers. The customer service training classes will cover how to set a positive tone when answering a phone call, professionally put a caller on hold, and transfer the caller.

As a telemarketer turning casual conversations into sales leads is an integral part of the job, and this program covers that area. You will also learn how to control callers, deal with difficult situations and de-escalate heated conversations. If some of your employees spend most of their time with customers on the phone, you should consider this program.

Learn more about Telephone Customers Service.

17. Crowd Management

The crowd during holidays or significant shopping periods such as Black Friday is usually large, and managing the public can be a big hassle. However, this program is great for learning how to control large crowds. In addition, the course has the best practices to plan for high-attendance events, such as scheduling extra security and staff.

In the course, you will explore plans to follow in case of an accident or fight. Other areas you will cover include how to make queues, handle annoyed buyers, protect items from damage, and ensure all customers are happy.

After completing this customer service training program, whether you work in a mega-store during Christmas or at a Beyoncé or Coldplay concert, you will have crowd control at your fingertips.

Learn more about Crowd Management.

18. Critical Thinking and Problem Solving in Customer Service

If you feel like your business is not growing enough despite all your excellent customer service, this program may be for you. This course explores the nuances of the customer experience. This course teaches how to recognize biases, define problems correctly, appreciate the difference in clients’ and colleagues’ thought patterns, and apply different ideation techniques.

To sell a service, you must understand what the customers and clients want and need. You must also learn how to package the service creatively that is appealing to the customer and fulfills a need. This workshop is an excellent customer service training program for employees to develop their creativity, problem-solving, and critical thinking in service of customers.

Learn more about Critical Thinking and Problem Solving in Customer Service and check out these problem-solving activities.

19. Culture of Services: New Perspective on Customer Relations

As a business owner, you must keep learning new and improved ways to attend to customers and deliver services. This course aims for this goal by using real-life videos of service relations to teach the program attendees. You will see videos from customer interactions in the hospitality, food, and retail industries.

The program allows learners to analyze customer interactions, learn new techniques, and critique services. edX does this training which lasts for eight weeks. When you complete the course, you can pay for a certificate to verify your completion.

Learn more about Culture of Services: New Perspective on Customer Relations.

20. Customer Service Training

This course is a great option if you want straightforward customer service training programs for employees. The program is a five-part course over email and is perfect for busy teams. This course will cover handling customer complaints, retaining customers, and de-escalating conflicts.

You can visit the LiveChat website and register for this course. The program is free, and every participant receives extra customer service tools when your team completes the course.

Learn more about Customer Service Training.

21. Guest Experiences

This program is excellent for customer service training in the hospitality industry. The course focuses on improving the guest experience in your hospitality business as much as possible. The training gives participants an insight into creating a warm and welcoming atmosphere, delivering consistent service, personalizing the customer experience, and managing complaints.

This program highlights the skills and techniques necessary to interact with your guests.

Learn more about Guest Experiences.

Conclusion

No matter how great your business is, miscommunications or mistakes can happen. These customer service training programs ensure that all your employees have all the skills to handle customers’ needs and get positive outcomes from difficult situations. With good customer service training, your business will retain more clients, get more referrals, and provide a better customer experience.

For best results, ensure that these trainings occur periodically to ensure continuous skills development. You should also do this training after hiring a new employee and when there are changes in the internal structure of your business. Finally, you should ensure that your chosen course is relevant to your industry.

Now, check out these customer service quotes and customer appreciation day ideas.

FAQ: Customer service training programs

Here are some of the most asked questions about customer service training programs.

What are customer service training programs?

Customer service training programs are courses or certifications that help employees with the skills, knowledge, and techniques to enhance client satisfaction. When your employees undergo the right customer service skills, your business can increase productivity and improve customer loyalty. Some of the skills that are important to learn in customer service training programs are communication, listening, and conflict resolution skills.

What are the best customer service training programs?

Here are some of the best customer service training programs.

  • SkillPath’s Communication Course
  • The Power of Empathy by EdApp
  • ITIL Training and Certification by Skill Soft
  • Brentwood Customer Service Course
  • Customers Service Management by Zoe Talent Solutions
  • Critical Thinking and Problem Solving in Customer Service by Business Training Works

The listed programs above can help your team become better at serving customers. When choosing programs, you should consider if you want an on-site, online, or public class.

How do you design a good customer service training program?

First, identify your learning objectives. Start by understanding what you want the participants of the program to learn. For instance, choose if you want to teach empathy or better communication skills.

Next, create the course content. You can start from the basics, such as definitions and types, then slowly branch out. Then decide how you want to assess the learners. You should also decide how the instructors will teach the course, whether online or offline.

Finally, constantly update your course over time. The world is fast-paced, and changes happen every day. Be ready to update your customer service training program so your learners evolve.

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Author:

People & Culture Director at teambuilding.com.
Grace is the Director of People & Culture at TeamBuilding. She studied Industrial and Labor Relations at Cornell University, Information Science at East China Normal University and earned an MBA at Washington State University.

LinkedIn Grace He

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