AWWA Customer Service Seminar

This two-day Customer Service Seminar addresses the challenges facing water utilities in the 21st century. The overall purpose of the seminar is to assist Customer Service Representatives in being responsive to increased customer expectations and expanding global demographics.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Identify the characteristics of excellent customer service
Describe the main characteristics of effective communication
Describe the four stages of understanding/learning
Identify and practice personal level of listening skills
Apply the 10 tips for a respectful workplace

COURSE 1 Customer Relationship Building
Focuses on communication skills for working with people in a positive, respectful, and cooperative manner characterized by a high level of professionalism and teamwork.

COURSE 2 The Business of Customer Service
Concentrates on the problem-solving and decision-making skills required for evaluating and effectively resolving customer service complaints, both real and perceived.

COURSE 3 Water Industry Operations and the Vital Importance of Teams
Develops your skills as a member of a high-performance work team. The basic ideas of teamwork are taught with water fundamentals and water conservation as part of the background required for understanding water utility rules, regulations, policies, basic terminology, and operations.

CUSTOMER SERVICE SEMINAR AT-A-GLANCE *Subject to change
Day One (8 Credit Hours)
7:30 - 8:00 a.m.	Registration Open
8:00 - 9:30 a.m.	Communication Skills - Course 1
9:30 - 10:30 a.m.	Diversity and Inclusion - Course 1
10:30 - 10:45 a.m.	Break
10:45 a.m. - noon	Listening Skills - Course 1
noon - 1:00 p.m.	Lunch (Included)
1:00 - 2:30 p.m.	Customer Service in Action - Course 1
2:30 - 3:30 p.m.	Working with Challenging Customers - Course 1
3:30 - 3:45 p.m.	Break
3:45 - 5:00 p.m.	Teamwork - Course 2

Day Two (8 Credit Hours)
8:00 - 9:30 a.m.	People, Processes and Technology - Course 2
9:30 - 10:30 a.m.	A Professional Attitude - Course 2
10:30 - 10:45 a.m.	Break
10:45 a.m. - noon	Personality Types - Course 2
noon - 1:00 p.m.	Lunch (Included)
1:00 - 2:00 p.m.	Understanding the Basics - Course 3
2:00 - 3:00 p.m.	Understanding the Rules and Regulations - Course 3
3:00 - 3:15 p.m.	Break
3:15 - 4:15 p.m.	The Fundamentals - Course 3
4:15 - 5:00 p.m.	The Value of Water - Course 3

Speaker and Presenter Information

Jim Ginley has worked for nearly 30 years in the municipal water utility sector, including more than 16 years on the headquarters staff of AWWA and more than 12 years as a water utility management and regulatory compliance consultant. He has a broad-based background that touches all areas of the public water sector, from regulations and training, to operations and management of municipal and privately owned water and wastewater agencies, both in North America and overseas.

Ginley is active in both the American Water Works Association (AWWA) and the Water Environment Federation (WEF), including: past chair and a continuing member of the AWWA Strategic Management Practices Committee; member of the AWWA Water Utility Benchmarking Advisory Committee; member of the WEF Utility Management Committee and served as the co-chair of the 2014 AWWA/WEF Utility Management Conference; and created, chaired, and remains a member of the Rocky Mountain AWWA/WEA Joint Utility Management Committee. Ginley has been published in Journal AWWA, co-authored an AWWA guide book on the AWWA/ANSI Utility Management System Standard (G-400), and authored a chapter in an award-winning water sector anthology, “Damned if We Don’t: Ideas for Accelerating Change around Water.”