Phone Customer Service · Foundations · 2 × 3 hours

Phone Customer Service Foundations

Six hours of live training that gives your team a proven structure for every call, plus the confidence to handle difficult customers, with more practice so the skills stick.

Book a ticket on a live online public course, or train your whole team privately, online or onsite.

  • 5.0/5 from verified reviews
  • ACXPA certified course
  • Built from 50,000+ assessed calls
  • Certificate included

Trusted by leading organisationsHundreds of businesses, from local councils to national brands, have chosen CX Skills to upskill their teams. See who we’ve trained

  • Australia Post logo
  • City of Casey logo
  • Federal Circuit Court of Australia logo
  • I-MED Radiology logo
  • MECCA logo
  • Taronga Zoo logo
  • Viking Cruises logo
  • Ultra Tune logo

What’s in it for you

Immediate impact, with skills that stick

Your team can use the Session 1 skills on real calls straight away, and the gap before Session 2 lets them try the skills and come back with questions.

Session 2 is a full session on difficult customers, with more role plays, coaching and feedback, so complaints are handled calmly and escalate less.

  • Consistent structure on every call
  • More confident handling of complaints
  • Fewer escalations and repeat contacts
Smiling customer service team member wearing a headset

Know what customers want

What customers want and need from a call, based on decades of research.

Start every call well

Ownership, intent and clear expectations that build trust from the first words.

Find the need fast

Three discovery techniques that uncover what the customer actually needs.

Explain clearly

Present information simply, with checks for questions and understanding.

Close with confidence

Final checks and clear next steps that avoid clunky finishes and repeat calls.

Handle difficult callers

A simple two-step method to calm frustrated customers and de-escalate.

The course

Two sessions: great calls, then difficult customers

Phone Customer Service Foundations runs over two live 3-hour sessions. Session 1 covers the call framework, and Session 2 is all about handling frustrated and difficult customers.

Role plays, live demonstrations, group work and expert feedback run through both sessions, aligned to the standards ACXPA uses to assess customer service.

Onsite, it can run as a half-day workshop.

  • 2 × 3 hoursOr a half day onsite
  • Online or onsitePublic online; private either way
  • Public or privateOne ticket or your whole team
  • CertificateFor everyone who completes

What’s covered: nine modules over two sessions

Session 1 builds the call framework. Session 2 builds confidence with difficult customers.

Session 1The call framework
Module 1

The Psychology of Customers

What customers want and need, and why great service matters.

  • What customers want and need
  • Why service drives results
  • The “why” behind the skills
Module 2

How to Engage

A strong first impression at the start of every call.

  • Ownership and intent
  • Managing expectations
  • Building trust early
Module 3

Better Needs Discovery

Techniques used by the FBI to find the real need, fast.

  • Uncovering root causes
  • Confirming the need
  • Efficient conversations
Module 4

How to Educate

Proactively inform customers, with checks along the way.

  • Checks for understanding
  • Checks for comfort
  • Clear solutions
Module 5

How to Close

Avoid awkward endings with a simple, warm close.

  • Strong final checks
  • Thanks and gratitude
  • A warm farewell
Session 2Difficult customers
Module 6

The Psychology of Complaints

The types of difficult customers, and what they need.

  • Types of difficult customers
  • How emotions affect the brain
  • What complainants need
Module 7

Empathy and Intent

Meet emotional and practical needs with a two-step response.

  • Validating with empathy
  • Taking ownership
  • The two-step method
Module 8

Handling the Most Difficult Customers

Calm heightened emotions and respond to inappropriate behaviour.

  • Vocal techniques
  • Staying professional
  • Responding to poor behaviour
Module 9

Group Practice

Put it all together in fun, practical role plays.

  • Realistic scenarios
  • Service and complaint skills
  • Feedback from the trainer

Three ways to train

Book a ticket for one person, bring the course to your whole team, or learn at your own pace.

Public course

Join a scheduled live online class

  • Live online via Zoom
  • Fixed dates, easy to plan ahead
  • Book one ticket or several
  • Save 15% when you book 3 or more
See upcoming dates

Private team training

Your team only, as-is or tailored

  • Live online or onsite, on your dates
  • Examples drawn from your own calls
  • Essentials, Foundations or PRO
  • Minimum 5 participants
Talk to us about your team

Self-paced online

Short video lessons, any time

  • From $9.15 per person a month
  • 400+ practical lessons and quizzes
  • Manager dashboards, custom pathways
  • Certificates for every course
Explore self-paced

Want to go further? See Phone Customer Service PRO

Compare phone courses

Compare the three phone courses

All three courses teach the same proven framework. Essentials is a fast 3-hour version, Foundations adds practice and difficult customers, and PRO goes further again for teams who want to master the phone.

ComparePublic or privatePhone Customer ServiceEssentialsThis coursePhone Customer ServiceFoundationsPrivate onlyPhone Customer ServicePRO
Length1 × 3-hour sessionlive online or onsite2 × 3-hour sessionsor a half day onsite3 × 3-hour sessionsor a full day onsite
Price$315per person, ex GST$485per person, ex GST$645per person, ex GST
AvailabilityPublic or privatePublic or privatePrivate only
Best forNew starters, or a fast refresh for experienced staff.Anyone who wants skills to stick through practice.Teams who want to master phone service.
Includes
  • Rapport and first impressions
  • A clear structure for every call
  • Questioning and active listening
  • Professional, positive language
  • Everything in Essentials
  • More role plays with live coaching
  • Handling difficult customers
  • Fewer repeat contacts
  • Everything in Foundations
  • Advanced call control
  • De-escalation and service recovery
  • Consistent, measurable call quality
LinkView EssentialsYou’re on this pageView PRO

Not sure which course suits your team? Ask for a recommendation

Getting sign-off?

Everything your manager needs, in one PDF

Download a two-page fact sheet for Phone Customer Service Foundations: outcomes, modules, format, price and options, plus how it compares with our other phone courses.

Course fact sheet (PDF)

Outcomes, modules, format, price and how to book, ready to forward or attach to an approval.

Download the fact sheet

Prefer to talk it through?

Not sure which course or format suits your team? Get in touch and we’ll help you choose.

Talk to us

Upcoming live public courses

Book a Phone Customer Service Foundations course

Public courses run live online via Zoom over two 3-hour sessions. Book one ticket or several, and pay by card or request an invoice at checkout.

  • Live, expert-ledPractice with live coaching
  • Certificate includedFor everyone who completes
  • 15% off 3 or moreBooked in one transaction
  • 25% off for membersACXPA member pricing
Next available27Oct2026

Tuesday 27 and Wednesday 28 October 2026

  • Session 1 Tue 27 Oct · 9:30am–12:30pm AEDT
  • Session 2 Wed 28 Oct · 9:30am–12:30pm AEDT

Online via Zoom · Bookings close Mon 26 Oct, 6:30pm

$485per person, ex GSTBook tickets15% off 3 or more tickets 4.9/5 · 374 reviews

More dates

Times shown in Melbourne time (AEST/AEDT).

Who it’s for

Who is phone customer service training for?

Anyone who speaks with customers on the phone, from new starters to experienced staff who want sharper skills.

Customer service teams

Phone-based support and account management in any industry.

Reception and office staff

Managing incoming calls for businesses, practices and service desks.

Call centre agents

Inbound enquiries, complaints and support calls in contact centres of any size.

Small business teams

Anyone taking customer calls who wants to sound more professional.

Healthcare and professional services

Patient and client calls that need care, clarity and discretion.

Retail and ecommerce support

Product enquiries, orders and complaints handled by phone.

Looking for the full range of phone training? See all phone customer service courses

ACXPA certified

Want your calls to meet the standard ACXPA uses to assess customer service?

CX Skills is the official training partner of ACXPA, which sets the standards used to assess customer service and publishes the Australian Call Centre Rankings.

Our phone customer service courses are ACXPA certified, so your team learns the behaviours that phone service is actually measured on.

  • ACXPA certified phone customer service courses
  • Built on the standards used to assess customer service
  • ACXPA members save 25% on every live public course

ACXPA membership

Want to save $121.25 on this course?ACXPA members pay $363.75, not $485, plus a year of self-paced courses, tools and live expert support

ACXPA membership is a practitioner-built, vendor-neutral toolkit for anyone who looks after customers on the phone, and you don’t need to book a course to use it.

Members get self-paced courses on phone skills and difficult customers, a complaints framework your whole team can follow, the standards ACXPA uses to assess customer service calls, and live access to contact centre leaders every fortnight.

  • 17self-paced courses with certificates
  • 65+tools, templates and resources
  • 50+hours of live expert access a year
  • 25%off CX Skills live public courses

Plus member tools built for phone teams

See where your service stands

The Customer Service Health Check rates you across 17 dimensions, with a full diagnostic and action plan for members.

The standard your calls are judged on

The ACXPA Global Contact Centre CX Standards: the phone behaviours ACXPA uses to assess customer service calls.

Spot who needs coaching

The Agent Performance Matrix plots each person on quality versus productivity, so coaching goes where it helps most.

An ACXPA Individual Membership is $197 ex GST a year, and Business Membership starts at $497 for a team of five, under $100 per person.

Every member gets 25% off CX Skills live public courses: five people on this $485 course save $606.25, more than a Business Membership costs.

Reviews

What participants say

Verified reviews from people who’ve completed our phone customer service courses, including Foundations.

4.9

374 verified reviews across all CX Skills courses

Read every review
4.9

Phone customer service courses · 73 reviews

5.0

On Google · 39 reviews
Independently verified

View all testimonials

FAQs

Phone Customer Service Foundations FAQs

Format, pricing, content and who the course suits.

Still have questions? Get in touch
Who should attend?
Anyone who speaks with customers on the phone, from new starters to experienced staff. It’s ideal when you want more practice time than Essentials, and when your team handles frustrated or difficult callers.
What’s covered?
Nine modules over two sessions. Session 1: The Psychology of Customers, How to Engage, Better Needs Discovery, How to Educate and How to Close. Session 2: The Psychology of Complaints, Empathy and Intent, Handling the Most Difficult Customers, and Group Practice.
How is it different from Essentials and PRO?
All three teach the same framework. Essentials covers it in one 3-hour session. Foundations runs over 2 × 3 hours with more practice and a full session on difficult customers. PRO runs over 3 × 3 hours (or a full day onsite) and is private only.
How much does it cost?
Public courses are $485 per person (ex GST) for six hours of live training. Save 15% when you book three or more people in the same transaction, and ACXPA members save 25%. Private training is quoted for your team.
How is it delivered?
Public courses run live online via Zoom over two 3-hour sessions. Private courses can be live online, or onsite at your workplace as a half-day workshop anywhere in Australia, New Zealand or the Asia Pacific (travel costs apply).
Can it be tailored for our team?
Yes. Private courses can use examples, scenarios and role plays drawn from your own calls, systems and customers.
Will the course definitely go ahead?
Public courses need a minimum number of participants to run, so we reserve the right to reschedule or cancel a date if too few people book. It rarely happens, and if it does we’ll let you know as early as possible and you can move to another date or get a full refund.
Do participants receive a certificate?
Yes. Everyone who completes the course receives a digital certificate of completion.
Is the course ACXPA certified?
Yes. Phone Customer Service Foundations is ACXPA certified and built on the standards ACXPA uses to assess customer service.
Is there a lower-cost or self-paced option?
Yes. Our self-paced library is a much cheaper way to build phone skills at your own pace, from $9.15 per person a month, with short courses and 1-minute videos your team can fit around their shifts.

An ACXPA membership is another option: members save 25% on live public courses and get 12 months of tools, templates and live sessions.
Can I get something to share with my manager?
Yes. Download the fact sheet (PDF) for the outcomes, modules, format and price in one short document. Public courses can also be paid by invoice at checkout.
How do I book?
Choose a date in the upcoming dates and book online by card or invoice. For private training, talk to us or call us on +61 3 9008 7287.

Talk to us

Questions about training your team?

Book a call to talk it through, or send us a message and we’ll get back to you.

Book a callDownload the fact sheet

Prefer the phone? Call +61 3 9008 7287 (Mon–Fri, 8:30–17:30 Melbourne time) or email hello@cxskills.com.au.

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Ready to lift every customer call?

Book a ticket on a public course, train your whole team privately, or start self-paced today.