Customer Service Management Training Course

Duration 5 days 10 modules · 33 contact hours
Level Intermediate Certificate on completion
Who attends Customer Service Managers, Customer Experience Managers and others
Fee from USD 1,100 KSh 95,000 for Kenyan organisations
Where 52 cities + online See dates by city
Next start 7 Nov 2026 Course code SD-CS-102

Before you join: Participants should have experience handling, supervising or improving customer enquiries, complaints or support requests.

Dates & prices

Two start dates a month in every city, and live online on weekdays or weekends. Fees are per participant; classroom fees include tuition, materials, lunch and refreshments, and the certificate.

Suggest a date or city

Showing the next six months. Later dates, other cities and private deliveries for your team are available on request.

Course overview

Customer service leaders must deliver timely, accurate and consistent support while controlling backlog, meeting service commitments and turning customer feedback into operational improvements. This requires more than polite responses. Teams need defined ticket workflows, clear ownership, useful knowledge content, reliable service metrics and escalation routes that work when customers are dissatisfied or business risk is high.

This course develops the management practices and HubSpot Service Hub capabilities needed to run a customer service function with discipline. Participants learn to design ticket pipelines, configure shared inboxes and routing rules, set service-level agreements, manage escalations, build knowledge bases, use customer feedback measures and report on service performance. The course also covers automation, chatbot handoffs, quality assurance, root-cause analysis and continuous improvement methods.

Instructor-led sessions combine short briefings with service cases, configuration scenarios, group analysis and customer communication simulations. Participants work with realistic examples such as delayed banking enquiries, public-sector complaint handling, B2B technical support and subscription-service cancellations. They leave with a practical customer service management pack containing a service operating model, ticket workflow design, escalation matrix, service dashboard specification and 90-day improvement plan.

The course suits professionals responsible for customer support, service operations, customer experience, contact centres or HubSpot Service Hub administration. It is especially relevant for teams moving from informal email-based support to managed, measurable customer service processes.

What you will be able to do

  • Design ticket pipelines, properties and routing rules for defined service workflows
  • Configure service-level agreement structures, escalation paths and breach controls
  • Apply shared inbox, chat, knowledge base and automation features in HubSpot Service Hub
  • Create customer service communications using plain-language and service-recovery techniques
  • Measure service performance using backlog, response, resolution, quality and experience metrics
  • Analyse customer feedback using NPS, CSAT, CES and verbatim-comment coding
  • Identify service failure causes using 5 Whys, fishbone analysis and service blueprints
  • Produce a 90-day customer service improvement plan with owners and measures

Benefits of attending

For you

  • Ability to translate customer service problems into defined workflows and ownership rules
  • Practical confidence configuring HubSpot Service Hub service processes
  • Stronger evidence for prioritising service improvements with managers and stakeholders
  • Reusable methods for handling escalations, complaints and service recovery
  • A documented 90-day plan for improving a current customer service operation

For your organisation

  • More consistent ticket handling across email, chat, forms and messaging channels
  • Lower risk of missed service commitments through visible SLA and escalation controls
  • Better service reporting through agreed definitions for backlog, quality and resolution
  • Reduced repeat contacts through usable knowledge content and root-cause action
  • Clearer investment priorities from customer feedback, operational data and demand trends

Course modules

10 modules over 5 days

Participants can define a customer service operating model aligned with customer needs and business priorities.

  • Service-profit chain links employee capability, service quality, loyalty and revenue
  • Customer journey maps expose handoffs, effort points and ownership gaps
  • Jobs to Be Done distinguishes customer progress from stated requests
  • Moments of truth prioritised by volume, effort, risk and value
  • Service promise translated into measurable response, resolution and communication commitments
  • RACI matrix assigns accountability for frontline, specialist and management decisions
  • Segmentation rules differentiate support entitlements, channels and escalation paths

Participants can design a ticket structure that supports reliable case handling and reporting.

  • HubSpot ticket pipelines reflect enquiry, incident, request and complaint workflows
  • Ticket properties capture category, priority, product, entitlement and root cause
  • Status definitions prevent ambiguous ownership, premature closure and reopened-ticket confusion
  • Priority matrix combines customer impact, urgency, contractual terms and operational risk
  • Routing rules assign tickets by skill, language, product and customer tier
  • Standardised tags create reliable demand, quality and root-cause reporting
  • Data governance establishes required fields, validation rules and retention responsibilities

Participants can manage customer contact across channels while preserving case context and accountability.

  • Shared inbox configuration unifies email, web forms, chat and messaging conversations
  • Channel strategy matches customer intent to asynchronous or real-time support
  • Conversation routing balances agent capacity, proficiency, priority and continuity
  • Chat qualification questions collect intent, identity, consent and urgency details
  • Consent capture follows lawful marketing contact and personal-data handling requirements
  • First-contact resolution measured without encouraging rushed or inaccurate closures
  • Channel switching protocols preserve context when cases move between teams

Participants can create clear service communications and manage complaints through to resolution.

  • Plain-language responses separate diagnosis, action, timing and customer responsibility
  • HEARD model structures recovery: hear, empathise, apologise, resolve, diagnose
  • De-escalation techniques acknowledge emotion while maintaining boundaries and factual accuracy
  • Macros standardise repeatable answers while retaining relevant case-specific detail
  • Knowledge-centred service articles capture symptoms, causes, solutions and verification steps
  • Accessibility checks improve readability, inclusive language and assistive-technology compatibility
  • Complaint letters distinguish remedy, goodwill gesture, explanation and appeal route

Participants can establish service commitments, escalation controls and queue-management routines.

  • Service-level agreements define scope, clocks, exclusions, remedies and review arrangements
  • Operational-level agreements align internal teams behind customer-facing service commitments
  • Business hours, pause reasons and clock rules prevent misleading SLA performance
  • Escalation matrix specifies trigger thresholds, decision rights, contacts and communications
  • Major-incident communications provide acknowledgement, updates, workarounds and closure confirmation
  • Queue management uses ageing, priority, capacity and breach-risk indicators
  • Workforce assumptions convert contact demand into staffing and scheduling requirements

Participants can gather, interpret and act on structured customer feedback.

  • Voice of Customer programme combines transactional, relational and unsolicited feedback
  • NPS, CSAT and CES selected against decision purpose and survey timing
  • Survey design avoids leading questions, double-barrelled items and sampling bias
  • Closed-loop feedback contacts detractors, records actions and verifies resolution
  • Text coding groups verbatim comments into themes, drivers and actionable causes
  • Driver analysis links satisfaction movement to journey stages, products and teams
  • Complaint taxonomy separates service failure, product defect, policy and communication causes

Participants can use service data to monitor performance and identify improvement priorities.

  • Service dashboard pairs volume, backlog, SLA, quality and experience measures
  • First response time distinguished from resolution time and customer wait time
  • Backlog ageing bands reveal hidden risk beyond aggregate open-ticket counts
  • Quality assurance scorecards assess accuracy, process adherence, tone and documentation
  • Control charts separate normal variation from special-cause service deterioration
  • Root-cause analysis uses 5 Whys and fishbone categories
  • Weekly operating reviews turn metrics into owners, actions and due dates

Participants can identify and configure suitable automation while retaining human judgement for complex cases.

  • Workflow automation triggers acknowledgements, routing, tasks, notifications and follow-up surveys
  • Automation eligibility separates predictable requests from judgement-dependent customer cases
  • Chatbot intent design uses utterances, fallback paths and human handoff
  • Knowledge gaps identified from failed searches, repeat contacts and bot fallbacks
  • Approval workflows control exceptions, refunds, credits and sensitive communications
  • Automation testing checks trigger logic, enrolment criteria and unintended customer messages
  • Human-in-the-loop controls preserve judgement for vulnerable or high-risk cases

Participants can diagnose service failures and manage structured improvement actions.

  • Service blueprint maps customer actions, frontstage activity, backstage work and systems
  • Failure mode and effects analysis ranks service risks by severity and detectability
  • PDCA cycles test improvements using baseline measures, hypotheses and review dates
  • Knowledge article governance assigns authors, reviewers, expiry dates and ownership
  • Demand deflection distinguishes useful self-service from abandoned customer effort
  • Change communications prepare agents for policy, product and workflow updates
  • Benefits tracking records expected effects, measures, owners and realised results

Participants can prepare a phased plan for implementing and improving a Service Hub service operation.

  • Service operating model defines channels, teams, roles, governance and decision forums
  • 90-day action plan sequences quick wins, dependencies, owners and measures
  • Configuration backlog prioritises portal changes by customer value, risk and effort
  • Data migration checks preserve ticket history, consent records and reporting continuity
  • Pilot criteria establish representative users, success thresholds and rollback decisions
  • Training plan differentiates agent, supervisor, administrator and stakeholder responsibilities
  • Adoption reviews monitor usage, exceptions, workarounds and competency gaps

Exercises and examples are adapted to each cohort's sectors and roles.

What you take back to work

  1. Customer service operating model template
  2. Ticket pipeline and property design
  3. SLA and escalation matrix
  4. Service quality assurance scorecard
  5. Customer service dashboard specification
  6. 90-day service improvement plan

Who should attend

  • Customer Service Managers — need consistent workflows, service measures and accountable teams
  • Customer Experience Managers — need to connect feedback evidence with service improvements
  • Contact Centre Managers — need control of queues, escalations and agent quality
  • HubSpot Administrators — need to configure Service Hub around service operating requirements
  • Support Team Leaders — need practical methods for coaching agents and managing casework
  • Operations Managers — need to improve customer-facing processes and reduce repeat demand

Skills and tools covered

Service operations designTicket workflow managementSLA performance controlCustomer feedback analysisService quality assuranceHubSpot Service Hub

Tools and standards

HubSpot Service Hub, Service Blueprint, Net Promoter Score, PDCA cycle

How the course runs

Training methodology

The course uses short instructor briefings, guided HubSpot Service Hub demonstrations, service-operation case work and small-group analysis. Participants assess ticket workflows, service promises, complaint scenarios, feedback results and dashboard measures drawn from realistic B2B, public-service and consumer-service settings. Communication simulations focus on difficult conversations, escalations and service recovery. Each participant applies the methods to a current or planned service environment and develops an action plan for implementation after the course.

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should have experience handling, supervising or improving customer enquiries, complaints or support requests. Familiarity with common service measures such as response time, resolution time or customer satisfaction is useful. Participants will benefit from basic confidence using browser-based business software and spreadsheets. Prior use of HubSpot is helpful but not required; the course explains the relevant Service Hub concepts and configuration logic. No programming, data science, formal project management qualification or prior customer experience certification is required.

A typical training day

08:30 – 10:30First session
10:30 – 10:45Refreshment break
10:45 – 12:30Second session
12:30 – 13:30Lunch and networking
13:30 – 15:00Third session
15:00 – 15:15Refreshment break
15:15 – 16:30Workshop and daily review

Live online deliveries follow the same structure in East Africa Time, with shorter screen blocks and longer breaks.

What the fee includes

  • Instruction by a practitioner facilitator
  • Full course workbook and materials
  • Exercise files, templates and case studies
  • Refreshments and lunch on classroom deliveries
  • Certificate of completion
  • Post-course application plan

Frequently asked questions

You should understand the basic realities of handling or supervising customer enquiries, complaints or support requests. Prior HubSpot experience is useful but not essential, and no technical or coding background is needed.

Bring a laptop if possible and details of a current service process, such as a ticket workflow, service target, complaint theme or backlog problem. You do not need access to a live HubSpot portal during the course.

It suits customer service managers, support team leaders, customer experience managers, contact centre managers and HubSpot administrators. It is designed for professionals responsible for improving service operations rather than entry-level customer service staff.

General service skills courses concentrate on individual communication and customer interaction. This course focuses on managing the service function: workflows, ticketing, SLAs, knowledge management, feedback, reporting, automation and improvement governance.

Participants can use the templates to review current ticket processes, define escalation rules, establish dashboard measures and prioritise service improvements. The final module produces a phased 90-day action plan linked to real operational needs.

The course runs from 08:30 to 16:30 each day, with about 6.5 contact hours daily. Ten modules progress from service strategy and ticket design through feedback, reporting, automation and implementation planning.

Questions about this course?

Ask about dates, fees, group bookings or running it for your team. Our training team replies by email.

Ask on WhatsApp info@skillsetdevelopment.com

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