Customer Service Certificate Program

Friendly, courteous and convenient customer service is necessary for municipal, county and state governments to be effective. Customer expectations are increasing and your employees must be able to meet these expectations and serve customers effectively.

The GTI Customer Service Certificate program will help you improve your customer service skills with a new curriculum - one designed to boost your professionalism by helping you take "PRIDE" in your job and organization. This certificate program will provide practical instruction built on five guiding principles of customer service:

P	-	Positive mental attitude is a must
R	-	Responsibility is yours
I	-	Image is essential
D	-	Develop your talents
E	-	Empathetic service eases stress

Learn your customer service certificate through five core courses and two electives in a fun, relaxed atmosphere.

Core Courses and Electives
Who Should Participate?
Learning Methods
Benefits
Program Qualifications
Program Cost
About the Instructor
Registration Form
Download the PDF Brochure

Core Courses and Electives

* Understand Yourself and Others: Get Along Swimmingly
* Unbeatable Customer Service: Don't Just Tread Water
* Fantastic Fixers: Be a Lifesaver
* Serving Diverse Customers: Respecting the Ecosystem
* Customers from $%#@: Calm Crabby Customers
† Stress Survival Skills: Ride the Waves
† Serving the "Invisible" Internal Customers: Explore Sunken Treasure
† Resolve Conflicts with C.L.A.S.S.: Dance with the Dolphins
† Time Mastery: Ten Tentacles of Time Management
† Personal Accountability: Take Charge of Your Ecosystem
† Image Essentials: Become a Starfish

* = core courses
† = elective courses

Who Should Participate?

Anyone and everyone. The program is designed for anyone within local government who deals with customers -- whether internal or external. We must learn to provide what the customer wants and needs in a friendly, courteous and convenient environment. Core competencies for excellence in customer service have been identified and are the foundation of the program design.

Learning Method

Self-discovery and application are fundamental adult learning requirements for retention of information and are employed heavily in this certificate program. People learn best when they are relaxed and enjoy the experience. A fun, relaxed atmosphere prevails throughout these sessions.

Several self-discovery tools are used throughout the program, and a high level of interaction is achieved through the use of:

Small group discussions
Case histories
Skill practice with feedback
Application exercises
Assessments
Lectures and videos to stress key learning points

Benefits

Employees will be better prepared to effectively deal with customers of all types. This will improve an employee's satisfaction with her or his job performance and result in a more committed and productive workforce. It will also positively impact customer perception of your department's services.

Program Qualifications

The Local Government Customer Service Certificate Program requires participants to satisfactorily complete the course work and develop a personal action plan for implementation in their daily work. This personal action plan is shared with the immediate supervisor/manager for support and reinforcement. Five "core" courses must be completed for certification plus two of the three electives offered.

2010 Program Cost

$772 - GTI Member full program
- $683 - Completed one elective course
  $591 - Completed one core course or two elective courses
- $490 - Completed one core course and one elective course
- $436 - Completed one core course and two elective courses
$888 - Non Member full program
- $785 - Completed one elective course
- $680 - Completed one core course or two elective courses
- $564 - Completed one core course and one elective course
- $501 - Completed one core course and two elective courses

About the Instructors

Cynthia B. Stotlar, a professional speaker, has a master's degree in adult education and over 20 years of experience in business management. She has provided consulting and customized training to over 50 organizations including municipalities, county governments and state agencies. Cynthia has written articles on customer service and has taught customer service to over 4,000 employees of various organizations and government.

Jeremy R Hall, J.D. is a Human Resources Consultant for Creative Business Solutions, Inc. Jeremy providing human resource products and services to assist organizations in the prevention and handling of sexual harassment and discrimination complaints.Jeremy has a Juris Doctorate from Washburn University School of Law. He is completing his thesis for a Masters in Criminal Justice from Washburn. He earned a Bachelors of Arts in History and Political Science from Southwest Baptist University. Jeremy is currently a member of the Topeka YWCA Career Assistance Network Board of Advisors, and on the Kansas Fair Housing Project Team.