City of Pigeon Forge Offers Free Customer Service Seminars

Pigeon Forge businesses are invited to take advantage of free customer service seminars.

The annual Guest Excellence workshop, hosted by the Pigeon Forge Department of Tourism, will be held April 6–7, 2016 at the Holiday Inn and Convention Center and feature customer service seminars by Rita Suiter, owner of FiveStar Customer Service Strategies.

Suiter will speak on two topics beneficial for both management and front line employees, “Be Your Customer’s Hero… Real-World Tips and Techniques for the Service Front Line” and “Business Etiquette.”

Summaries for each of the Guest Excellence customer service seminars offered:

Be Your Customer’s Hero… Real-World Tips and Techniques for the Service Front Line

Attend 9–11:30 a.m. on Wednesday, April 6 or 1:30–4 p.m. on Thursday, April 7

Where did you learn how to serve customers? For customer service veterans, serving customers becomes so instinctive that it feels like common sense. It isn’t. That knowledge has to come from somewhere. All of us faced a time when we didn’t know what to do. We lacked the experience. We hadn’t received enough training. Perhaps we didn’t have a mentor to guide us through difficult situations. We’ve all been there at some point in time. This workshop is designed as a “how-to-guide” for service providers and is designed into three parts: 1) The psychology of customer service, 2) The importance of teamwork and 3) Mastering Challenging Situations. This workshop will inspire you to create effective and rewarding customer experiences. If you are in a customer-facing role, this is a must attend workshop!

Workshop Objectives:

• The mind of the modern customer
• How to become a “hero” to your customers
• How to avoid the “seven service triggers”
• Customer service starts at the top
• How to deal with “nightmare customers”
• Communicating like a pro

Business Etiquette

Attend 1:30–4 p.m. on Wednesday, April 6 or 9–11:30 a.m. on Thursday, April 7

Success in any industry relies on relationships, whether with co-workers, clients, suppliers, or investors. When you’re well mannered and considerate in dealing with others, you create engaging, productive, and long-term business relationships. As such, it is important to learn, not just the technical side of a business, but how to conduct one’s self in the company of others. This is where business etiquette comes in. This workshop will introduce participants to business etiquette, as well as provide guidelines for the practice of business etiquette across different situations.

Workshop Objectives, by the end of this workshop, participants will be able to:

• Define etiquette and provide an example of how etiquette can be of value to a company or organization
• Identify at least one way to minimize nervousness while in social situations
• Identify and practice at least one technique to remember names
• Understand the guidelines on how to make effective introductions
• Identify the 3 C’s of a good impression
• Understand how to use a business card effectively
• Identify the 3 steps in giving a handshake

These Guest Excellence customer service seminars are offered free of charge exclusively to the Pigeon Forge business community, but participants must register in advance. Contact Sherri Kirby at (865) 429-7368 or skirby@mypigeonforge.com