Business Communication: Handling Difficult Customers
Become a pro at de-escalating conflicts and handling upset, angry, or challenging customers. Dive into 8 comprehensive modules and earn certification in just 4 hours to boost your skills and career!
- Comprehensive, Online Training: 9 modules, featuring 75+ bite-sized video lectures, interactive quizzes, and hands-on exercises
- Key Skills Taught: Conflict Resolution, Effective Communication, Developing Empathy, Problem-Solving, Active Listening, Self-Care Techniques, and more
Learn on Your Schedule: Lifetime, online access allows for flexible, self-paced study anytime, anywhere
- Last Updated: November 2023
- Viktoriya Maya
- English
- Last Updated: November 2023
CustomersFirst Customer Training at a Glance
As a customer-facing professional, you often encounter high-pressure situations requiring strong de-escalation and conflict management skills. Without proper training, navigating these challenging interactions can lead to unresolved issues, upset customers, and a stressful job.
Our comprehensive program equips you with the skills to defuse tense situations, enhance customer satisfaction, and transform challenges into positive customer service experiences.
Our training goes beyond theory, providing a hands-on curriculum tailored for real-world applications. We prioritize self-care and resilience, empowering you with the confidence and skills needed to turn challenges into opportunities for personal and professional growth.
What's Included in Our Training?
- 9 modules: Conisisting of 75+ bite-sized lessons
- Interactive Quizzes: Test Your Knowledge
- Lifetime Access: Study At Your Own Pace
- Resource Library: Downloadable Templates
- Digital Certification: To Grow Your Career
- Expert Training: Proven Industry Practices
Skills and Learning Objectives
- Use verbal and nonverbal communication strategies to ensure faster resolutions and enhanced customer satisfaction.
- Actively listen and anticipate customer needs, leading to proactive service, quicker problem-solving, and reduced customer complaints.
- Turn challenges into positive customer experiences to improve company reputation and foster customer loyalty.
- Communicate with empathy to build rapport and trust, leading to smoother interactions.
- Take advantage of customer feedback to improve products and services, and build stronger customer relationships.
- Develop active listening skills, ensuring that customers feel heard, understood, and valued, deepening trust and rapport.
- Quickly identify root causes of customer issues to proactively address concerns and prevent escalations
- Build long-term relationships, leading to repeat purchases and sustained revenue.
Follow Our Step-by-Step Curriculum
- Getting Started
- Access Your Templates Library
- Cultivating a Positive Attitude
- Is the Customer Always Right?
- Dealing With Challenging Customers
- Why Customers Get Upset
- Setting SMART Goals
- Quiz
- Recommended Resources
- Download Lecture Notes
- Preventing Potential Problems
- Taking a Proactive Approach
- Building Rapport with Customers
- Acknowledging Your Customers’ Feelings
- Using “I” vs. “We”
- Replacing Trigger Words
- Quiz
- Showing Willingness to Help
- Refocusing Attention on the Solution
- Ensuring Customer Satisfaction
- Quiz
- Recommended Resources
- Assessing the Situation
- Investigating Customer Complaints
- Identifying Customer Needs
- Demonstrating Empathy
- Listening Before Diagnosing
- Quiz
- Asking the Right Type of Questions
- Preventing Negative Emotions
- Empowering the Customer
- Following up with Customers
- Offering Solutions
- Quiz
- Recommended Resources
- Download Lecture Notes
- Using Partnership Language
- Restoring the Customer’s Confidence
- Strategies for Written Communication
- Getting Past Resistance
- Understanding Customer Motivations
- Tactful Ways to Deliver Bad News
- Following up to Thank the Customer
- When and How to Escalate Complaints
- Best Practices for Escalating Complaints
- Setting Appropriate Boundaries
- Quiz
- Recommended Resources
- Download Lecture Notes
- Learning from Challenges
- Embracing Mistakes
- Finding Opportunities to Improve
- Preserving the Relationship
- Turning Upset Customers Into Fans
- Approaching Every Problem as an Opportunity
- Using Websites to Collect Feedback
- Using Emails for Customer Feedback
- Using Social Media, Chat, and Apps for Feedback
- Analyzing Results
- Addressing Common Complaints
- Quiz
- Recommended Resources
- Download Lecture Notes
- Self-Care: Back to the Basics
- Dealing with Criticism and Negative Emotions
- Creating a Positive Work Environment
- Tips for Working Remotely
- Nutrition to Combat Stress
- Adopting Healthy Sleep Habits
- The Importance of Taking Breaks
- Building a Social Support System
- Looking Inward to Improve
- Quiz
- Recommended Resources
- Course Completion Instructions
- Share Your Course Feedback
Instructor Bio
Viktoriya Kurganska is the Co-Founder and Lead Instructor at CustomersFirst Academy. Her passion for customer service education has impacted the lives of more than 40,000 professionals worldwide. Before diving into customer service education, Viktoriya gained recognition for leading an award-winning customer team at the world’s top online finance training institute, serving over 1 million customers. Prior to that, she held positions in student support and advising at notable universities and colleges in Canada, and worked as a consultant for e-learning startups.
Trusted by 41,000+ Professionals at Leading Organizations Worldwide
Join thousands of satisfied learners who have already benefited from our customer service training to advance their careers and upgrade their skills.
Open Doors to Career Opportunities Across Many Industries
- Healthcare: As patients expect more personalized care, soft skills are paramount for building trust and addressing complex needs.
- Hospitality: Delivering memorable guest experiences and higher satisfaction requires personable professionals with strong communication.
- Retail: In an increasingly digital world, soft skills help associates provide service excellence to keep customers shopping in-store.
- Technology: As tech support interactions grow, the ability to understand users and solve problems simply is key to driving adoption and loyalty.
- Financial Services: Advising clients and resolving sensitive issues demands empathetic listening and clear explanations to form long-term relationships.
- Non-Profit: Passionate, persuasive communication is essential for fundraising and social service to fulfill important missions.
- Transportation: Whether planning trips or addressing delays, travelers count on polite, solution-focused customer service to get where they're going smoothly.
- Telecommunications: Troubleshooting technical issues while retaining customers requires patience, empathy and quick problem-solving over phone and online channels.
- Education: From admissions to alumni support, educational institutions rely on staff with coaching mindsets to guide diverse learners along their journeys.
- Sales & Marketing: Building relationships, qualifying needs and closing deals requires strong communication skills and emotional intelligence to engage customers.
- And many more!
Evan K.
Really impressed with both the content coverage and the quality of the advice in this course. Viktoriya really knows what she’s talking about in customer service. If you’re running a customer service team or your job involves interfacing with customers, she presents a great set of tools for you to use. Highly recommended. I took a lot of notes during this course and I plan on re-watching it later down the line.
Grace S.
Very informative with great examples and realistic scenarios on how to apply your learning, also the tips on how to manage yourself at work are really helpful and useful.
Irene A.
I believe this course is very important , this is not only for people in the customer care industry but also people interested in growing their careers. I am really getting a lot of knowledge that i am going to apply in my current role at work.
Michael P.
Sebastian T.
The course was very engaging, straight to the point and very proctical. An exellent course for this topic. Thank you.
The CustomersFirst Guarantee
If in the first 14 days of your purchase your training doesn’t address your learning and growth needs, we’ll reimburse you in full! No questions asked.
Frequently Asked Questions
Definitely. Our courses are designed around real-world scenarios to build confidence in any customer interaction. Past students reported feeling better equipped to solve problems and exceed expectations after completing the program.
Our customer service certification program is open to all experience levels and professional backgrounds. Fundamental lessons introduce core skills, while advanced options allow growing professionals to refine their knowledge and abiliities.
On average, the full customer service certification program (including all video lessons, quizzes and activities) takes approximately 4-5 hours total to complete at your own pace. However, you have lifetime access for flexible, self-guided study to fit your schedule as needed.
While the courses are self-paced, CustomersFirst Academy provides email support for general and technical inquiries to ensure you have a smooth learning experience.
All reference materials, worksheets and case studies included in the lessons can be downloaded for offline use and mobile study. Video lectures must be viewed online.
You will receive your digital Certification by email as soon as you complete all the required lessons, assignments, and knowledge assessments.
Yes, we stand behind the quality of our training programs. If for any reason you are unsatisfied and do not feel you’ve increased your skills, we offer a 14-day money-back guarantee from the date of enrollment. Simply contact our support team to initiate a full refund. Please note refunds cannot be provided if the certificate has already been issued.
Enrolling is easy – just click on this link to sign up. After payment, you will receive a welcome email with your login credentials to immediately access your training online. You can then proceed at your own pace. Don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any other questions as you get started!
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Enroll Now to Get Instant Access to:
- Library of 130+ Video Lessons
- Lifetime Access
- Downloadable Resources
- Interactive Quizzes
- Digital Certification
- Mobile-Friendly Learning
