Business Idea Center:
Customer Service Training

Business Overview

We have all been in situations where we have been treated poorly by a food server, service manager, receptionist or product installer. The end result of such an encounter is typically a vow to never return to or refer that particular business again. Rude and poorly trained employees cost companies millions of dollars each year in potential future business and referrals. The companies that benefit from this are the ones that take proactive measures to ensure their staff has received proper customer service and appreciation training. You can earn an incredible income by starting a consulting service that provides companies, organizations and associations with various customer service training programs that have been specifically designed to meet their individual needs and that target how to become a good, helpful and customer-appreciative employee. To get started, decide if your instruction program will focus on one specific industry for training, such as food servers, or be a general instruction program that trains all service employees, regardless of the industry or position they work in. Once you have chosen an operating format, the next step is to design and publish an instruction manual and course description that will become the basis of the program. This step is extremely important, as it is the foundation for the entire business venture. The manual should be designed in such a way that it is a comprehensive “A to Z” program that covers all the bases in customer service and customer appreciation training and can be easily and quickly customized to meet individual client needs. The training programs can take place at client locations during nonbusiness hours in a group or one-on-one format. A prerequisite for starting this type of business is to be a customer service specialist. While this does not mean that you must possess a specific certificate, it does mean that you must posses a great deal of customer service experience, common sense, and a creative imagination to develop role play sketches for the purpose of training. Market the service by joining local business groups to network for clients, as well as build alliances with other types of employee training services that do not presently provide clients with customer service training options. Fees for the service will be in the range of $40 to $60 per hour, based on the average training program.