Informing the customer service training process: Building on subject matter experts' knowledge and experience

Municipal utilities are experiencing increasing competitive pressure as the electric utility industry is deregulated. Customer service is a key element of the competitive strategy of many other organizations confronted with competition. Opportunities exist for improving municipal utilities' customer service dramatically by increasing the available information about the competencies required to provide excellent service. Further improvement can be achieved by designing structured training for municipal utilities' customer service providers based on the experience of subject matter experts who are currently working in municipal utility customer service.;This study provided information about customer service competencies from a national survey of 452 customer service providers. Five major competency areas were identified through an exploratory factor analysis. These included Basic Work Skills and Traits, Sensitivity to Diversity, Sensitivity to Customers, Cashiering Skills and Computer Skills. The ten competencies rated most important by respondents were related to respecting customers and co-workers.;Customer service expertise represents an essential part of the intellectual capital of the organization. Leveraging the intellectual capital that is represented by the customer service providers and their management offers excellent opportunities for businesses.;Business success relies on customer relationships, and those relationships are influenced more by quality of service than any other single factor. Customer service quality is based on the quality of the organization's staff and on the quality of the training that they receive. The competencies identified in this study are related to the soft skills that customer service providers offer to customers with whom they work. These skills center around communication skills, empathy and understanding skills, and openness to the diverse personalities and backgrounds of customers. Training people to provide excellent customer service needs to be focused on these skills, as well as on the more mechanical skills related to customer service.