Course description

Every customer service job comes down to the same few skills: listening properly, helping clearly, keeping promises and staying calm when things go wrong. This course teaches those skills step by step, so you can handle customers, complaints and calls with confidence, whether you're looking for your first job or already work in a shop, hotel, call centre or reception.

It's written in plain English, with no jargon and no assumptions. You learn what good service looks like, how to listen and ask the right questions, and how to help customers face to face, on the phone and in writing. Then you learn to handle complaints in six clear steps, explain basic consumer rights, calm upset customers, set a boundary when someone becomes abusive, and give extra care to customers who need it. You finish with teamwork, your own wellbeing, and how to show your skills on a CV and at interview.

There are 10 sections and 50 written lessons, each with a worked example, common slips, questions people often ask and a short exercise to try, and each section ends with a short quiz. You follow Marigona, who works at a home and hardware shop in Carlisle, Gerallt, who starts a new job in a broadband contact centre in Sunderland after many years as a school caretaker, and Siobhra, a receptionist at a hotel in Oban, from spring to early autumn 2026. Every section has a practice pack with a worksheet, example answers and a cheat sheet, plus cards, checklists and forms such as a phone call checklist, a complaint handling card, a consumer rights summary, an incident record form and a customer service toolkit template.

What you'll learn

• Customer service foundations: what good service involves, who your customers are, meeting expectations with promises you can keep, policies and service standards, and the customer journey.
• Communication skills: active listening, open, closed and probing questions, plain and positive language, body language and tone, and adapting how you communicate.
• Face-to-face service: greeting customers, finding out what they need, queues and busy times, the front desk, and saying no politely while offering an alternative.
• Phone and call centre skills: answering calls and security checks, your phone voice, hold, transfers and messages, how contact centres work, and closing calls and call backs.
• Written and online service: clear emails, live chat, replying to online reviews, call records and handovers, and using templates without sounding like a robot.
• Handling complaints: why complaints are useful, six steps for handling them, apologising well, a plain summary of basic consumer rights, and when to escalate.
• Upset and difficult customers: why customers get upset, calming things down, setting a boundary when behaviour becomes abusive, staying safe, and looking after yourself afterwards.
• Customers who need extra care: customers in vulnerable circumstances, disabled customers and accessibility, language and cultural differences, personal information, and spotting scams.
• Working well in a customer service team: product knowledge, teamwork, targets and feedback, your wellbeing on shift, and where customer service can lead.
• Bringing it together and getting the job: your CV and applications, interviews, five practice situations, and your final project: a customer service toolkit.

Who it's for

Job seekers and staff in retail, hospitality, call centres and front-desk roles, and anyone who deals with customers and would like to do it with more confidence. You don't need any experience.

What this course is, and isn't

Rootlet teaches the skills. This course doesn't lead to a qualification or certificate from an awarding body, and it doesn't replace the training your employer gives you: always follow your own organisation's policies and procedures. The consumer rights lesson is a plain summary based on official guidance, not legal advice. Marigona, Gerallt, Siobhra and every other person and business in the course are fictional.

What will I learn?

• Explain what good customer service involves, who your customers are, and how to meet expectations with promises you can keep
• Listen actively, ask open, closed and probing questions, and use plain, positive language and calm body language
• Greet and help customers face to face, manage queues and a front desk, and say no politely while offering alternatives
• Handle phone calls with confidence, from the opening and security checks to hold, transfers, messages and call backs
• Write clear emails, live chat messages, review replies, call records and handovers, and use templates well
• Handle complaints with six clear steps, apologise sincerely, explain basic consumer rights and escalate when needed
• Calm upset customers, set a boundary when behaviour becomes abusive, and stay safe and supported afterwards
• Adapt your service for customers who need extra care, protect personal information and spot signs of scams
• Build product knowledge, work well in a team, take feedback well and look after your own wellbeing on shift
• Present your skills on a CV and in interviews, and complete a customer service toolkit you can keep and update

Frequently asked questions