Delivering customer service training to a worldwide audience can be a minefield of potential errors, missteps and disasters.

Whether you have 30 or 300, it is likely that you will face men and women, old and young, company veterans and brand-new employees, locals and foreigners, married, single or recently divorced, and every possible mix of ethnic, religious and sexual persuasion. With a group like this, you can offend without intention, insult without meaning to, and alienate without even trying.

Avoid painful mistakes when providing customer service training! Follow these twelve tips when you work with participants from around the world during customer service training or other programs and you will find yourself with an attentive, involved and harmonious learning group.

There Are Moments In Life When Someone Says Just A Few Magic Words That Become Powerful Beyond The Speaker's Imagination

They improve customer experience in a broad sense and can shape lives.

Perhaps this has happened to you. It has to me - twice, and both times the efforts to improve customer service had a profound impact.

The first magic moment to improve customer experience occurred in 1972 when my high school science teacher, Stan Rhodes, challenged his students to see who could build the strongest bridge using just a limited amount of balsa wood and glue.

The most listened-to radio station in the world is WII-FM, which stands for "What's In It For Me?"

Some people use this question like a trump card. Answer well and you will get my cooperation. If your answer is insufficient I may ignore your question, request or even the entire situation.

I'm tired of this question being used so often and with such depressing power. Here's why: Little kids go for individual and immediate gratification: "Give me," "I want," "It's mine."

An engaging service vision for your customer service training program

During A Cold Winter Season, Smart Organizations Get Busy Preparing For Spring. One way to prepare is to design (or confirm) a clear and motivating vision of what you want to become. Back this vision up with customer service training and other measures and you can transform your business for the better. Your engaging service vision is one of the "12 Building Blocks for a Superior Service Culture" we teach at UP Your Service! College. This vision can serve as a guiding light for customer service training and to focus your efforts now and in the future.