DELIVER AN EXCEPTIONAL ACCESSIBLE ANDINCLUSIVE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE

Offering an Accessible Customer Experience supports an organization's commitment to meeting the needs of all customers, directly impacts whether large segments of people can communicate effectively with and take advantage of all the offerings of an organization, and in many cases, it is protected by law.

Knowing how to ask the right questions, listen intently, and maintain professionalism and respect will lead to more positive outcomes for the customer and the organization.

In this course, you will learn how and why it’s so critical for customer-facing employees to have strong accessibility skills and awareness.

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) protects the rights of individuals with disabilities in several spheres of public life, including: employment, public goods and services, state and local government, business and commercial facilities, transportation, and telecommunications.

Understanding the nature of some of the disability types protected by the ADA and some of the most common barriers customers face is a necessary aspect of enabling all customers to access great service.

Why? In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that 61 million adults have a disability. This means that roughly one-in-four adults has an impairment or limitation that has a significant impact on their physical or cognitive abilities. For individuals 65 years or older, disability becomes more prevalent at a rate of about 40%.

This course provides overviews of disability statistics and information, as well as detailed information about accommodations, assistive technology, and key customer service tips for specific disability types.

Did you know that digital content, like that on a website or app, can be made in ways that make it more (or less) usable for people with disabilities?

While customer-facing employees are not directly responsible for the accessibility of the organization’s web content, it’s helpful and important to be aware of key concepts. Consider that:

• The prevalence of disability means that the accessibility of the organization's web content is critical for your customers. If customers have issues using the organization's web content, they may contact customer service for help or information.
• The directions you give a customer or the language you use should be mindful of potential digital accessibility barriers. 

It’s not always easy to know what to say. But, there are some communication and language best practices that will guide customer-facing employees toward being effective and supportive — and never offensive — with customers.

In general:

• Choose people-first language
• Stay neutral
• Avoid assumptions
• Try to use plain language

This course details these core concepts so that customer-facing employees can avoid confusion and communicate effectively while respecting individual identity preferences.

Telecommunications relay service (TRS) enables people with hearing or speech disabilities to communicate by phone through a TRS communications assistant.

There are a number of methods and technologies used to facilitate effective TRS communication, and each form of TRS works a little differently. As a customer-facing employee, having a strong understanding of the most common forms of TRS — TTY (teletypewriter), VRS (video relay service), and STS (speech-to-speech) — can go a long way.

In this course, you can expect to learn about these important communication techniques and technologies, as well as virtual interpreting arrangements. For example, video remote interpreting (VRI) is used to provide sign language interpreting between hearing and deaf or hard-of-hearing (HoH) parties at the same site via videoconferencing instead of on-site interpreting. Being prepared to facilitate various communication needs and preferences can set a customer service team apart.

Great communication is often a pillar of great customer service. For virtual customer service teams, communicating by phone is likely part of their job, if not the primary function. This course will detail how to deliver exceptional customer service with world-class phone etiquette.

Today, many people also prefer online chat features and email communication instead of traditional phone calls. Like all digital content, accessibility needs to be considered for these functions. And, there are some key tips customer service representatives can keep in mind to help make emails and live chats more accessible for more customers.

This course will leave virtual customer service teams better-prepared for the various communication methods of twenty-first century service expectations.

Select any of the "Enroll Now" links on this page to get started. Ready to move forward? Enroll now.

The Accessible Customer Experience training program is $395 for one license. Multiple license discounts start at 10 licenses with quantity discounts up to 70%.  Please contact Andrew Leeah via email at andrew.leeah@accessibility.com for a quote or more information. 

Everybody learns in their own way and at their own speed, so the Accessible Customer Experience training is designed to be self-paced. Learners may complete the course in one sitting or save their progress and return later. Typically, learners may expect to complete the course in about two hours.

The Accessible Customer Experience training is designed for all learning styles, so each topic is supported by video, audio, and text content. There are also key takeaways and knowledge checks along the way, helping ensure learners understand this important material.

Absolutely. In fact, all customer-facing employees and managers can benefit from learning how to serve all customers effectively and respectfully.

Generous corporate and volume packages are available. Contact us at andrew.leeah@accessibility.com for details.