Career · Lesson Plan
Introduction to Customer Service
Customer service is all around us — at the store, on the phone, on a company’s website — but being exposed to it isn’t the same as understanding how to do it well. This opening lesson defines what customer service is, explains why it’s so important to a business (bad experiences drive customers and revenue away), and introduces the specific characteristics customers look for. It’s the foundation for the rest of the customer-service series.
For Teachers
Lesson at a glance
- Topic
- Career
- Grade Level
- Grades 9–12
- Resource Type
- Lesson + Worksheet
- Estimated Time
- 45–60 minutes
- Format
- Lesson + activity
- Materials
- Printable lesson, activity sheet, whiteboard
What Students Learn
Learning objectives
- Define customer service
- Explain why customer service is important to a business
- Describe how bad service costs customers and revenue
- Identify the characteristics of good customer service
- Evaluate the service they receive as consumers
Materials
What you’ll need
- Printed lesson and activity (one per student)
- Pencils
- Whiteboard
Key Terms
Vocabulary
- Customer service
- Helping and supporting the people who buy from a business.
- Customer
- A person who buys goods or services.
- Revenue
- The money a business takes in from sales.
- Reputation
- How customers and the public view a business.
- Consumer
- A person who uses goods and services.
- Retention
- Keeping existing customers coming back.
For Teachers
Lesson plan
Estimated time: one 45–60 minute class period.
Lesson sequence
- What is customer service? (12 min). Where students already encounter it every day.
- Why it matters (15 min). How bad experiences drive away customers and revenue.
- What good looks like (10 min). The characteristics customers look for.
- Activity (11 min). Students rate good and bad service experiences and explain why.
Assessment
Assess the activity for a clear definition of customer service and sound reasoning about why it matters.
Discussion
Discussion questions
- What is customer service, and where do you encounter it?
- Why is customer service so important to a business?
- How does one bad experience affect a company?
- What characteristics make customer service good?
- How do you decide whether service was acceptable?
Printable Lesson & Activity
Introduction to Customer Service — Lesson & Activity
A printable lesson and activity introducing customer service: what it is, why it matters to a business, and the characteristics of good service.
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