1. Career Development Training Course
Time Management and
Customer Service
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2. Time Management and Customer Service
Enabling Objectives
Upon successful completion of this topic,
the trainee will be able to:
 LIST time-wasting activities that affect the
working environment.
 IDENTIFY the time conservation methods
in the working environment.
 LIST the four tasks required to conserve
time in the workplace.
 DESCRIBE how to assess time spent in
the workplace, including the four-step
time-assessment process.
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3. Time Management and Customer Service
Enabling Objectives (cont.)
 IDENTIFY how to manage time using the
Swiss Cheese Method of time management.
 LIST productivity terms in the workplace
environment.
 IDENTIFY how to set goals using the
SMART Process.
 DESCRIBE how to prioritize goals using the
ABC System and the 80/20 Rule.
 DESCRIBE the value of face-to-face
contact in customer service.
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4. Time Management and Customer Service
Enabling Objectives (cont.)
 IDENTIFY the procedure to respond to
customer needs.
 LIST the pitfalls to avoid when dealing with
the customer.
 DESCRIBE the techniques to use when
dealing with extreme and unusual situations
in customer relations.
 IDENTIFY the procedure for handling
customer records.
 LIST the benefits of using the Team
Approach when providing customer service.
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5. Time Management and Customer Service
Reference Publications
 OPNAVINST 1040.11(series), Navy
Retention and Career Development
Program
 NAVPERS 15878(series), Career
Counselor Handbook (CCH)
 NAVEDTRA 14056(series), Navy
Customer Service Manual
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6. Time Management and Customer Service
Time Conservation
 Time-Wasting Activities Affecting
the Working Environment:
 Paperwork
 Improper management of information
– too much, too little
 Unrealistic deadlines
 Underestimated time requirements
 Unclear goals
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7. Time Management and Customer Service
Time Conservation (cont.)
 Time-Wasting Activities Affecting
the Working Environment (cont.):
 Poor concentration, lack of focus,
jumping from job to job
 Standards – failing to meet them or
greatly exceeding them
 Poor interactions with people (get
what you need the first time, be
prepared)
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8. Time Management and Customer Service
Time Conservation (cont.)
 More Time-Wasting Activities:
 Work overload
 Procrastination
 Phone calls
 Unscheduled breaks
 Reading/Writing e-mail
 Non-essential Internet use
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9. Time Management and Customer Service
Time Conservation (cont.)
 Time-Conservation Methods:
 Keep a list of “in-between items”
 Multi-task
 Delegate tasks when possible
 Get up earlier
 Handle mail and papers only once
 Do personal work after work
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10. Time Management and Customer Service
The Big Four Tasks to Conserve Time
 Learn to say NO!
 Prioritize!
 Pad your schedule for
interruptions.
 Schedule time when you cannot be
disturbed.
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11. Time Management and Customer Service
Time-Spent Assessment
 Examine your daily activities to
determine how you spend your
time
 Determine your most efficient time
at work
 This is a four-step process
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12. Time Management and Customer Service
Time-Spent Assessment (cont.)
 Step 1: Record Use of Time
 Step 2: Analyze Results
 Step 3: Eliminate Time-Wasters
 Step 4: Overcome Psychological
Barriers:
 Affiliation
 Achievement
 Power
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13. Time Management and Customer Service
The Swiss Cheese Method of Time
Management
 Info Sheet 1-9-2
 The Swiss Cheese Method means
punching a bunch of small holes in
a large task.
 You punch holes in the task by
getting started and spending
whatever time you have on the
task.
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14. Time Management and Customer Service
The Swiss Cheese Method of Time
Management (cont.)
 Even if you only have 10 or 15
minutes to spend on it just before a
meeting or just before going home,
do it! Soon you will find that 20
minutes here and an hour there
finishes the job.
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15. Time Management and Customer Service
Productivity Terms
 Goal-Setting
 Prioritizing
 Activities
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16. Time Management and Customer Service
Goal-Setting: Time-Specific Goals
 For goals to be of value, they must
be time-specific:
 Daily
 Weekly
 Monthly
 Etc.
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17. Time Management and Customer Service
Goal-Setting: SMART Goals
 Specific
 Measurable
 Attainable
 Realistic
 Trackable
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18. Time Management and Customer Service
Goal-Setting: SMART Goals (cont.)
 Specific:
 Clear end result
 No room for misunderstanding
 Specific time frame
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19. Time Management and Customer Service
Goal-Setting: SMART Goals (cont.)
 Measurable:
 You need to know when you get there.
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20. Time Management and Customer Service
Goal-Setting: SMART Goals (cont.)
 Attainable:
 I have the knowledge.
 I have the resources.
 I have the support.
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21. Time Management and Customer Service
Goal-Setting: SMART Goals (cont.)
 Realistic:
 Be sure your goals are realistic and
relevant to your skills.
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22. Time Management and Customer Service
Goal-Setting: SMART Goals (cont.)
 Trackable:
 Have someone who will help you be
accountable and offer some
constructive criticism during your
progress.
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23. Time Management and Customer Service
Prioritizing: The ABC System
“You must learn to set priorities to
your goals and complete the goals
according to priority. This will allow
you to complete the most important
goals each day, even if you can't
complete all your goals.”
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24. Time Management and Customer Service
Prioritizing: The ABC System (cont.)
 Step 1:
 Place an A next to the items on your
list that must be done.
 Then place a B next to items of
medium value and a C for items of
lowest value.
 Don’t get wrapped around the axle on
this; remember, it is a subjective
rating system!
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25. Time Management and Customer Service
Prioritizing: The ABC System (cont.)
 Step 2:
 Break down the priority groups by
assigning numbers to each item in a
group according to the priority within
the group.
 Example, A-1, A-2, A-3, and so on.
 Events may require that a C item
become an A item or vice versa. This
means you are going to be required to
set priorities continually.
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26. Time Management and Customer Service
Prioritizing: The 80/20 Rule
“If all the items are arranged in
order of value, 80 percent of the
value would come from only 20
percent of the items, while the
remaining 20 percent of the value
would come from 80 percent of the
items.”
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27. Time Management and Customer Service
Quality Customer Service
 NAVEDTRA 14056, Navy Customer
Service Manual:
“Everyone in the Navy is directly or
indirectly responsible for providing
efficient customer service. However,
of the many ratings in the Navy, only
a few provide direct services to other
personnel—NC is one of those
ratings.”
 CCC is a customer service job.
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28. Time Management and Customer Service
NAVEDTRA 14056, Navy Customer
Service Manual
Overview
 Face-to-Face Contact (Chapter 1)
 Customer Needs (Chapter 2)
 Pitfalls to Avoid (Chapter 3)
 Extreme and Unusual Situations
(Chapter 3)
 Customer Records (Chapter 3)
 The Team Approach (Chapter 4)
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29. Time Management and Customer Service
Face-to-Face Contact
 NAVEDTRA 14056, Navy Customer
Service Manual:
“Although you can’t always provide
customers with everything they may
request, you can always give them good
service.”
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30. Time Management and Customer Service
Face-to-Face Contact (cont.)
 To provide quality customer service,
you must provide the customer with:
 Knowledge and skills
 A positive attitude
 A sense that you have pride in what
you do
 Courtesy
 Cooperativeness
 The ability to keep how you are feeling
personally out of how you treat
customers
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31. Time Management and Customer Service
Customer Needs
 Apply what you learn in the Navy
Counseling Techniques Lesson to
determine customer needs.
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32. Time Management and Customer Service
Pitfalls To Avoid
 Avoid jumping to conclusions.
 Avoid letting personal feelings
about a customer interfere with
service.
 Avoid stereotyping for any reason.
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33. Time Management and Customer Service
Pitfalls To Avoid (cont.)
 Failing to Communicate:
 Cultural differences
 Physical problems (i.e. speech
impediments)
 Prejudicial language (i.e. snipe and
twigget)
 Confusing terminology (i.e. customer
doesn’t know what you know, so keep
it simple)
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34. Time Management and Customer Service
Pitfalls To Avoid (cont.)
 Blatant disrespect excluded, don’t
respond in kind to a bad attitude
from a customer.
 Don’t give the customer the
runaround; if you don’t know
something, tell them and find the
correct answer.
 Don’t make promises you can’t or
won’t keep.
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35. Time Management and Customer Service
Pitfalls To Avoid (cont.)
 Don’t overstep your bounds by:
 Criticizing coworkers.
 Criticizing policies, procedures, or
instructions.
 Encouraging complaints by the
customer about his/her job or life by
responding with your own list of
problems.
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36. Time Management and Customer Service
Pitfalls To Avoid (cont.)
 Don’t be apathetic to a customer’s
needs.
 Don’t keep a customer waiting
unnecessarily.
 Don’t break routines; have your office
open when it’s scheduled to be open!
 Never discuss personal information
about a customer with anyone who
doesn’t have the need to know!
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37. Time Management and Customer Service
Extreme and Unusual Situations
 The best way to handle extreme
and unusual situations is to
understand:
 The rights and privileges to which a
Sailor is entitled.
 Instructions, manuals, and directives.
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38. Time Management and Customer Service
Extreme and Unusual Situations
(cont.)
 Know your limitations.
 Know the alternatives; where
there’s a will, there might be a
waiver.
 Above all else, don’t make
statements or promises that are
beyond your capability to deliver.
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39. Time Management and Customer Service
Customer Records
 Make clear and accurate entries;
the errors you make will, in the
long run, be more of a problem for
the customer than for you.
 Safeguard customer records
against loss or exposure to
persons who don’t have a need to
know (Privacy Act).
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40. Time Management and Customer Service
Customer Records (cont.)
 File customer records correctly so
they can be found the next time.
 File a copy of correspondence
pertaining to a Sailor in his/her
service record as well as in the
general file.
 When holding forms for future action,
attach a note to them indicating what
action is required and when.
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41. Time Management and Customer Service
The Team Approach
 The Team Approach to customer
service provides the customer service
representative (and the customer) with
the following benefits:
 A broader knowledge base for dealing
with customer issues.
 A ready source for advice and assistance.
 Consolidated goal-setting and prioritizing.
 Oversight to prevent mistakes.
 Mutual encouragement and support.
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42. Time Management and Customer Service
Summary and Review
 Time Management:
 List five time-wasting activities that
affect the working environment.
 What are the four tasks required to
conserve time in the workplace?
 What is the 4-step process to
determine your most efficient time at
work?
42

43. Time Management and Customer Service
Summary and Review (cont.)
 Customer Service:
 What reference provides instruction
on how to deal with customers?
 List 4 pitfalls to avoid when dealing
with a customer.
 What are the benefits of the Team
Approach to customer service?
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