50 Training Activities for Administrative, Secretarial, and Support Staff

Activity 18 155

Activity 18

Beyond the Call of Duty

Description

This activity involves the trainer offering input on different levels of customer

service, followed by a group discussion and then a game of darts between teams.

Target Group

All support staff—especially those who need assistance in thinking beyond the

guidelines that they are given

Objectives

• To analyze the different levels of customer service that could be provided

• To help participants find ways in which they can go “above and beyond the call

of duty” without incurring additional costs or requiring additional resources

Number of Participants

4 to 8

Time

60 minutes

Materials

• Dartboard and dart set (for safety reasons, we suggest using a children’s dart-

board and dart set with Velcro™-tipped darts)

• Flipchart and colored markers in red, blue, green, gold (or yellow)

• Handout 18-1

• A pack of 3" x 5" index cards

• A prize for the winning team, preferably something that can be shared, such as

a box of chocolates

Preparation

Make a copy of Handout 18-1 for each participant.

156 50 Training Activities for Administrative, Secretarial, and Support Staff

Activity 18 (continued)

Method

1. Start the activity by asking the participants what they consider to be important

elements of customer service. Write their thoughts on the flipchart as they are

volunteered.

Encourage the participants to give you more ideas by prompting them to

remember some of their experiences as a customer and asking them how they

would have liked to handle these situations. You might like to use the sug-

gested prompts in Notes for the Trainer on page 158.

2. Now discuss how levels of service are constantly changing and improving. Illus-

trate this either by using the example in Notes for the Trainer on page 159 or a

similar one of your own.

3. Emphasize how our own expectations of service continue to rise, as do those of

our customers. It is no longer good enough to provide merely adequate service.

4. Say: “Let’s look back at our own experiences and categorize the points on the

flipchart into levels of service.” Use the following levels:

• Unacceptable: red

• Adequate: blue

• Good: green

• Exceptional: gold (or yellow)

5. Talk through the suggestions on the flipchart, derived from the initial discussion.

Underline (or highlight) each one with the color that corresponds to the level of

service the participants feel is demonstrated.

6. Distribute a copy of Handout 18-1 to each participant and explain that this is an

example showing them what they will be asked to do next, in two teams and

two stages.

Stage One

Each team takes a piece of flipchart paper and turns it so that it is horizontal

(landscape). They then write the headings:

Problem Acceptable Service Good Service Exceptional Service

Next they discuss and define five fairly common “problem” situations at work

and write these clearly in the Problem column.

One team should number their problems 1 to 5. The other team should number

their problems 6 to 10.