Cumbria Waste Management - Where the customer comes first
As a result of their ongoing commitment to providing excellent customer service, Cumbria Waste Management approached Enventure to undertake a comprehensive Customer Care training programme for their Household Waste Recycling Centre staff across the county.
Although current staff were very good at what they did and were keen to ensure the HWRCs recycled as much as possible, the main concern was the lack of customer focus and the ability to deal with difficult customers.
Site visits were then organised to assess the current level of customer service being delivered by the HWRC staff. This included identifying areas for improvement, but also areas that were currently delivered well.
From observations onsite, a tailored training programme was developed to ensure emphasis was placed on the areas that needed to be improved, and was made adaptable to serve the needs of both current and future staff.
Training was delivered in two phases. Phase one involved a participative classroom based course utilising classroom discussions, short lectures and role play covering a variety of topics such as:
- what is customer service
- identifying your customer needs and their expectations
- positive steps to excellent customer service
- the importance of communication in the service delivery process
- barriers to communication
- using body language
- making the most of your voice and building rapport
- active listening and questioning skills
- handling complaints and difficult customers
Phase two of the training was based around coaching, with a tailored one to one session with individuals to reinforce the customer care training and how to put it into practice.
Staff were very receptive to the training, understanding how customer care was an important part of their role and felt the training was an excellent way of reinforcing this message. By understanding the needs of the customer and offering them a service that will meet their needs, the staff are now more customer focussed allowing Cumbria Waste Management the opportunity to deliver even better customer service.