GA Training’s head office is in Barnet, Hertfordshire and our local customer service team has just scooped the title of customer service champion for London in the Institute of Customer Services annual awards. Sharon Dyra has been a member of Barnet Council’s customer service team for the past 11 years and in her own words [...]

When you call someone at a call centre their ability to keep you informed as to what is happening is vital. We have all been in the situation when a customer service advisor puts you on hold and you are simply left there hanging on.  This is even more disconcerting when you are on hold [...]

I am very interested in a programme scheduled to air tonight with Mary Portas (the Queen of Shops) regarding customer service.  As a provider of customer service training we at GA Training are always interested to find out what is really going on out there in the world and this programme should therefore be well worth [...]

In an age of turbulent times it’s often risky to stick your neck out and make predictions.  But as the SAS say, “he who dares wins”! So, looking ahead with respect to the customer service sector, what’s in store for us? I have outlined below, and in no particular order, some of my predictions for [...]

To win hearts and minds, of both internal and external customers, excellent customer service needs to be driven from the very top of the organisation. Delighting customers should be truly embedded throughout all departments – failure to do so, more often than not, results in failure to exceed customer expectations. Unravelling the DNA of organisations [...]

I admit that I’m a bit of a customer service disciple and can be quite challenging to go out to dinner with!  Not that I’m not a serial complainer or anything, it’s just that I often take a leaf out of the USA book on how to deliver customer service. From time to time, I [...]

A recent study showed that only 4% of customers who were dissatisfied with their dealing will bother to feedback their views to that company. But the real damage to an organisation’s reputation and profits is caused when the 96% of dissatisfied customers then go on to tell at least six of their family and friends [...]

As the snow falls down outside across much of the UK we thought you might like to reflect on some guiding principles for delivering excellent customer service. We realise this list is not exhaustive but the 6 principles below will make an immediate difference,

One of the most common things we hear on our customer service training courses is that although people are willing they often do not have the necessary tools or instruments to carry out their role. It is actually amazing how much can be achieved through harmonious teamwork when everyone is committed to the same goal [...]

I have recently started to buy all of my meat from the butchers.  A strange start to a blog I know. The reason for this switch away from the supermarkets and into the butchers is a simple one.  When I go into the butchers I am treated like an important customer but crucially I am [...]