What you will learn

• Improve support-center productivity
• Provide exceptional customer support
• Handle difficult customer situations
• Exhibit assertive confidence while reducing job stress

How you will benefit

• Understand how to make any customer interaction positive and effective
• Learn problem solving techniques that can be implemented while working
• Assess your role in the industry and future opportunities for advancement

Requirements:

Hardware Requirements:

• This course can be taken on either a PC or Mac.

Software Requirements:

• PC: Windows 8 or newer.
• Mac: OS X Snow Leopard 10.6 or later.
• Browser: The latest version of Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox are preferred. Microsoft Edge and Safari are also compatible.
• Windows Media Player.
• Adobe Acrobat Reader. Click here to download the Acrobat Reader.
• Software must be installed and fully operational before the course begins.

Other:

• Email capabilities and access to a personal email account.

Instructional Material Requirements:

The instructional materials required for this course are included in enrollment and will be available online.

The computer support industry is one of the fastest-growing fields, and there is every indication that this growth will continue. This course uniquely prepares you to work as a support specialist by focusing on the business needs of the customer, establishing credibility and trust, and handling the most difficult customer scenarios.

You'll learn about problem solving and troubleshooting, team dynamics, and interpersonal communication skills. You'll also get a broad overview of the back-office operations of a support center, and the common industry tools and technologies used in providing exceptional customer support.

This course also prepares for the Support Performance Tier-1 Support Specialist (SPC-T1SS) Certification exam at no additional cost, which is an organizational certification through SCInc., not an industry certification.

1. Essential Communication Skills
   1. Introduction to the Support Industry
   2. Understanding Customer Satisfaction
   3. Telephone Communication Skills
   4. The Call-Handling Process
   5. Dealing With Difficult Customer-Service Situations
   6. Developing and Practicing Assertiveness in Customer Support
   7. Human Resource Issues in the Support Environment
   8. Ethics in the Workplace
   9. Team Building Practices, Principles and Issues
2. Tools, Problem Solving, and Processes
   1. Staying Current in the Industry
   2. Tools and Technologies for the Support Center
   3. Overview of Network Administration
   4. Disaster Recovery Procedures
   5. Understanding Computer Telephony Integration
   6. Creativity and Problem Solving
   7. The Five-Step Problem-solving Process
   8. Support Processes and Process Integration
3. Certification Qualifying Exam
   1. Exam Preparation
   2. Qualifying Exam
4. Performance Outcomes Assignment
   1. Competency Development Using T1SS Competency Model
   2. Scheduled Iterative Performance Evaluations

Eric Svendsen, Ph.D., is CEO of SCInc. He developed seminars and course materials for the first industry-accredited help desk certification. He has also consulting for hundreds of organizations. Svendsen is the author of several books, including "Presentation Skills and Accelerated Learning Techniques for Computer Trainers" and he regularly contributes to industry publications like Support Solutions magazine and LifeRaft magazine. More recently, he contributed to "A Guide to Computer User Support for Help Desk and Support Specialists, Third Edition."