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What Should Your Customer Service Training Cost in Terms of Money, Time and Results?

Written by: Leanne Hoagland-Smith

Article Overview: Loyal customers provide ongoing revenue and are the source for referrals. Having employees who consistently demonstrate exceptional customer service is the dream of every business owner or executive. Understanding the cost of developing those employees is necessary if you, the business owner, wish to take your business to that next level of success.

What Should Your Customer Service Training Cost in Terms of Money, Time and Results?

Customer service is a key business strategy to increase sales. With loyal customers providing ongoing revenue and the source for most referrals, keeping these customers dazzled with exceptional customer service is a daily challenge. Customer service training then becomes a business strategy.

When considering customer service training, each business owner or executive needs to review the training in terms of money, time and results. These three factors are considered separately, jointly and in alignment with the strategic plan.

Factor #1 - Money

Customer service training is probably some of the more affordable education and training being offered. Seminars begin at $20 to $50 per participant with off site 3 day workshops costing around $1,800 per individual. In house training to improve customer service in many instances is delivered by the HR department. Business coaches and business consultants provide on site customer service training with costs varying from $250 per participant to comprehensive project pricing.

Factor #2 - Time

Is the engaged learning time enough to secure the results? Time is a critical resource. If the training time is not enough to deliver the desired results, then why investment the money on the front end?

Factor #3 - Results

Can you clearly identify the results that you desire from the customer service training?
Any change initiative such as training should begin with the expected outcomes.

Very few employees enter their workplaces each day with the expressed wish to anger customers or to mess up the organization. Yet, because of years of conditioning, these same employees may need some customer service training to increase sales. The cost to improve customer service should always balance money, time and results. And remember, there is no magic pill to cure your customer service ills.

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