You can teach someone great customer service. But can you train them to deliver it when it really matters?
That was the question I recently put to Customer Service and CX leaders on LinkedIn.
The result?
76% said customer service training cannot be truly effective without real-life practice.
And the comments made it clear why.
Knowing a process is one thing, handling an upset customer, thinking on your feet and finding the right words under pressure is something else entirely.
So, what makes training stick?
It's not just what happens in the training room, it's what happens afterwards, practising real-life scenarios, coaching advisers through difficult conversations, listening to employees to understand where they're struggling and it's reinforcing the right behaviours through ongoing feedback and quality assurance.
Because here's the thing:
Training shouldn't end when the session ends. That's where the real work begins.
For Customer Service and CX leaders, the opportunity is to move beyond measuring training attendance and completion.
Instead, ask a more important question:
What has actually changed in the way our customers are being served?
When learning translates into confident advisers, better conversations and stronger customer outcomes, that's when training delivers real value.
I'd love to hear your perspective.
What's one thing you've seen make the biggest difference between training people remember and training that genuinely changes behaviour?
Share your experience in the comments. I read every one.
🎙️ Listen my podcast on the Customer Service Gold Dust Podcast (opens in a new tab)
I'm also looking to feature more Heads of Customer Service and Customer Experience on the podcast.
If you're leading teams, developing people or driving improvements in customer experience, I'd love to hear your story and share your insights with our community.
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Stay Memorable,
Gavin