Customer Service Excellence
Handling Difficult Customers
Embedded Files
This scenario-based eLearning experience is a conceptual project designed to equip customer service representatives with the skills and strategies needed to handle challenging customer interactions effectively in a risk-free environment.
Audience:
Customer service representatives in call center or remote support roles across retail, hospitality, and service industries, from entry-level to experienced employees.
Responsibilities:
Instructional design (action mapping, storyboarding, content development, prototype, full build), visual design, eLearning development, and assessment design.
Tools Used:
Articulate Storyline 360, Canva, Google Docs, MindMeister, Pexels
The Problem and Solution
The Problem and Solution
In the customer service industry, employees often struggle with handling difficult customer interactions, leading to increased customer complaints, potential loss of business, and a negative impact on the company’s reputation.
Through collaboration with a subject matter expert (SME) in customer service, it was identified that many employees lack the confidence and strategies needed to manage challenging situations effectively. These interactions can result in customer dissatisfaction, decreased employee morale, and high turnover rates. To address these challenges, I was inspired to develop a sample scenario-based eLearning experience designed to provide customer service representatives with practical strategies for managing difficult interactions. This immersive, story-driven training allows learners to safely explore and navigate complex scenarios, ultimately improving their confidence and ability to respond effectively in real-world situations.
Introduction Slide 1
The Design Process
The Design Process
Action Mapping
Action Mapping
To create this action map, I conducted a needs analysis by collaborating with a subject matter expert (SME) in the customer service field. We focused on the common challenges employees face when dealing with difficult customer interactions. Through this process, we established the central business goal: increasing customer satisfaction scores by 15% within the next six months by improving employees' skills in handling these interactions.
With this goal in mind, we narrowed down three high-priority actions to serve as the foundation for a story-driven, scenario-based eLearning: enhancing active listening skills, developing empathy in customer interactions, and mastering conflict resolution techniques. These actions are designed to guide employees through realistic scenarios that mirror the challenges they encounter in their roles. By incorporating specific examples and non-examples, learners will have the opportunity to practice decision-making in a risk-free environment. This eLearning will immerse employees in dynamic customer service situations where they’ll need to apply these skills in real time.
Action Map
Text-Based Storyboard
Text-Based Storyboard
After completing the action map, I moved into designing the flow of the eLearning module with a text-based storyboard. This step was crucial in building the overall structure of the learning experience, ensuring that the scenarios were engaging and aligned with the project’s business goals.
I started by outlining different customer service situations where representatives face challenging interactions. From there, I created decision points that would allow learners to choose how to respond, and I mapped out the consequences of each choice. This helped bring to life key skills like active listening, showing empathy, and resolving conflicts. Throughout the process, I worked with a subject matter expert to make sure the scenarios reflected real-world challenges that customer service teams face.
The storyboard went through a few rounds of feedback from both the SME and other instructional designers to refine the flow and ensure the decisions learners make were realistic and impactful. This process helped me sharpen the connection between the decisions made by the learner and how those decisions directly affect customer satisfaction.
The final storyboard includes rich scenarios, thoughtful decision-making opportunities, and clear feedback to help learners improve their skills—all designed with a focus on enhancing customer service performance in a meaningful way.
Slide from text-based storyboard
Visual Mockups
Visual Mockups
Once the storyboard was finalized, I moved on to the visual design phase, where I focused on bringing the project’s concepts to life. I used Canva to create a style guide, incorporating a cohesive color scheme and fonts that aligned with the tone of the module. I wanted the design to be visually engaging yet easy to navigate, so I carefully selected images and layouts that would enhance the learning experience.
From there, I designed wireframes for different types of slides, including the title screen, mentor guidance slides, scenario-based questions, and feedback screens. These wireframes helped ensure the structure was consistent across the module and provided a clear foundation for high-fidelity mockups.
Creating the mockups was an exciting part of the process, as it allowed me to see how everything would come together visually. I experimented with different button styles, avatars, and text placements, refining the layout as I went. After some rounds of feedback and tweaking, I was able to finalize the mockups and felt confident in how the visual elements aligned with the goals of the project.
Style Guide
High-Fidelity Mockups
Interactive Prototype
Interactive Prototype
Building the interactive prototype for this project was an exciting step! I used Articulate Storyline 360 to bring the storyboard to life, creating engaging scenarios with personalized feedback and carefully designed transitions. To enhance the visuals, I incorporated assets from Canva and Pexels, crafting each scene to keep learners immersed in realistic customer interactions. The prototype included the title slide, introduction, mentor interactions, question prompts, and responses with tailored feedback. Collecting feedback at this stage helped refine the flow and ensure a smooth, engaging experience for the final project.
Completing the scene build out in Storyline
Mentor Character, Leslie
Full Development
Full Development
With feedback from the prototype in hand, I moved into full development in Articulate Storyline 360, building out each interaction to immerse learners in realistic scenarios. A few favorite features include dynamic mentor interactions that guide users, detailed customer personas with unique responses, and feedback tailored to each learner’s choices. To keep learners engaged, I added animations and crafted encouraging feedback to celebrate each success and motivate learners through challenging moments. Throughout development, I stayed adaptable, integrating insights from user feedback and iterating to create a polished, engaging experience.
Reflection and Takeaways
Reflection and Takeaways
Translating Designs into Storyline: Moving my mockups into Articulate Storyline 360 came with challenges, especially in finding fonts and visuals that captured my original vision. This experience taught me to be flexible with design choices and find creative solutions to make everything come together seamlessly.
The Power of Planning: I learned how vital it is to plan carefully at every stage. Thoughtful preparation early on helped me avoid issues later in development and kept the project on track. This approach reinforced the value of setting a strong foundation to save time and ensure quality.
Consistency in Design: Creating a consistent look was key, especially to ensure the visuals matched the tone and style I envisioned. I adjusted graphics and design elements to keep everything cohesive, without compromising on inclusivity.
Embracing the Learning Curve: This project reminded me of the importance of patience and adaptability. Each step brought new challenges that deepened my skills and expanded my approach to instructional design. I’m excited to bring these lessons into future work, creating engaging and impactful learning experiences.
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