Front desk · phone · email · public or private
Reception Customer Service Training
Reception and front desk training that makes an immediate difference to every first impression. Your team learns to welcome visitors warmly, handle calls and messages professionally and stay calm when the desk gets busy.
Choose Essentials, Foundations or PRO. Book a ticket on a live online public course, or train your whole team privately, online or onsite.
- ACXPA certified courses
- Live online or onsite
- 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
What’s in it for your team
What your reception team will do differently
Your receptionists are often the first and last point of contact for customers, patients and visitors. Every greeting, call and email shapes how your organisation is seen.
Our training builds confident, repeatable habits across the desk, the phone and the inbox, so the difference shows straight away.
- Warmer first impressions, in person and on the phone
- Smoother handling of busy periods and competing tasks
- More confident staff when situations get difficult
Welcome every visitor
Create a warm, professional first impression that sets the tone for every interaction.
Confident call handling
Clear call flows for answering, transferring and taking messages professionally.
Clear, polite emails
Professional replies that answer the question and reflect well on your organisation.
Juggle competing tasks
Prioritise walk-ins, calls and inbox requests without dropping service quality.
Calm tense situations
De-escalate upset visitors and callers with proven, respectful techniques.
Privacy and discretion
Handle confidential information and escalations professionally and consistently.
Choose your course
Ready-made reception training, built from real experience
We’ve trained thousands of receptionists across healthcare, corporate, education and hospitality. These courses turn what actually works into one proven framework your team can use straight away.
Pick the depth that suits your team. Each course is ready to run for immediate impact, and we can tailor any of them for you.
Reception Customer Service Essentials
1 × 3-hour sessionlive online or onsite
$315per person, ex GST
Best for: new starters, or a fast refresh for experienced staff.
- Welcoming first impressions
- Calls, transfers and messages
- Clear, professional language
- Questioning and active listening
Reception Customer Service Foundations
2 × 3-hour sessionsor a half day onsite
$485per person, ex GST
Best for: anyone who wants skills to stick through practice.
- Everything in Essentials
- More role plays with live coaching
- Juggling walk-ins, calls and emails
- Complaints and de-escalation
Reception Customer Service PRO
3 × 3-hour sessionsor a full day onsite
$645per person, ex GST
Best for: teams who want to master front desk service.
- Everything in Foundations
- High-pressure arrivals and queues
- Conflicting priorities
- Advanced service recovery
Three ways to train
Book a ticket for one person, bring the training to your whole team, or learn at your own pace.
Public course
Join a scheduled live online class
- Essentials or Foundations
- Fixed dates, easy to plan ahead
- Book one or more people
- Save 15% when you book 3 or more
Private team training
Your team only, as-is or tailored
- Essentials, Foundations or PRO
- Or tailored to your visitors and systems
- Live online or onsite, on your dates
- Minimum 5 participants
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
Not sure which course suits your team? Ask for a recommendation
Getting sign-off?
Compare all three courses, in one PDF
Download a two-page course guide that compares Essentials, Foundations and PRO: length, price, availability and what each level covers, ready to forward or attach to an approval.
Reception customer service course guide
All three levels side by side, with the modules in each and how to book.
Download the PDFPrefer to talk it through?
Not sure it suits your team? Get in touch and we’ll help you choose.
Talk to usUpcoming live public courses
Book a public reception customer service course
Essentials and Foundations run live online via Zoom, in short sessions that fit around clinics, bookings and visitor peaks. Pay by card or request an invoice at checkout.
- 8Oct2026Reception Customer Service EssentialsThu 8 Oct · 1:30–4:30pm AEDT · 3 hours · Online via ZoomHelp your front desk make a great first impression on every visitor, call and email in this 3-hour live online course with Simon Blair, on Thursday 8 October 2026.$315ex GSTView course
- 10Nov2026Reception FoundationsTue 10 and Wed 11 Nov · 9:30am–12:30pm AEDT · 2 × 3 hours · Online via ZoomLift reception and front desk service across face-to-face, phone and email in this 2 × 3-hour live online course with Simon Blair, Tuesday 10 and Wednesday 11 November 2026.$485ex GSTView course
- 19Nov2026Reception Customer Service EssentialsThu 19 Nov · 9:30am–12:30pm AEDT · 3 hours · Online via ZoomHelp your front desk make a great first impression on every visitor, call and email in this 3-hour live online course with Simon Blair, on Thursday 19 November 2026.$315ex GSTView course
- 1Dec2026Reception FoundationsTue 1 and Wed 2 Dec · 1:30–4:30pm AEDT · 2 × 3 hours · Online via ZoomLift reception and front desk service across face-to-face, phone and email in this 2 × 3-hour live online course with Simon Blair, Tuesday 1 and Wednesday 2 December 2026.$485ex GSTView course
- 9Dec2026Reception Customer Service EssentialsWed 9 Dec · 9:30am–12:30pm AEDT · 3 hours · Online via ZoomHelp your front desk make a great first impression on every visitor, call and email in this 3-hour live online course with Simon Blair, on Wednesday 9 December 2026.$315ex GSTView course
- 13Jan2027Reception Customer Service EssentialsWed 13 Jan · 1:30–4:30pm AEDT · 3 hours · Online via ZoomHelp your front desk make a great first impression on every visitor, call and email in this 3-hour live online course with Simon Blair, on Wednesday 13 January 2027.$315ex GSTView course
- 4Feb2027Reception FoundationsThu 4 and Fri 5 Feb · 1:00–4:00pm AEDT · 2 × 3 hours · Online via ZoomLift reception and front desk service across face-to-face, phone and email in this 2 × 3-hour live online course with Simon Blair, Thursday 4 and Friday 5 February 2027.$485ex GSTView course
- 24Mar2027Reception Customer Service EssentialsWed 24 Mar · 1:30–4:30pm AEDT · 3 hours · Online via ZoomHelp your front desk make a great first impression on every visitor, call and email in this 3-hour live online course with Simon Blair, on Wednesday 24 March 2027.$315ex GSTView course
Who it’s for
Who is reception customer service training for?
Anyone who is the first point of contact for customers, patients or visitors, in person, on the phone or by email.
Medical and allied health
Clinics, imaging, dental, vet and allied health reception teams.
Education and school admin
Front offices handling parents, students and visitors.
Corporate and office reception
Front desks managing enquiries, calls and visitor traffic.
Executive assistants
PAs and support staff who represent senior leaders.
Hospitality and concierge
Hotel, venue and event teams welcoming guests.
Community and recreation centres
Bookings, memberships and public enquiries.
Looking for all our customer service training? Browse all customer service courses
ACXPA certified
Want your front desk trained to a recognised service standard?
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 reception courses are ACXPA certified, with call handling aligned to the standards used to assess phone service.
- ACXPA certified reception customer service courses
- Built on the standards used to assess customer service
- ACXPA members save 25% on every live public course
ACXPA membership
Want the tools and support to make every first impression count?
ACXPA membership is a practitioner-built, vendor-neutral toolkit for anyone who runs a front desk or answers the phone for a business, and you don’t need to book a course to use it.
Members get self-paced courses on phone skills and difficult customers, a Customer Service Health Check that covers medical practices, professional services and other front-desk businesses, induction checklists for new starters, and live access to experienced practitioners 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
Sharpen your skills, any time
Self-paced courses on phone skills, service excellence and difficult customers, each with a workbook, quiz and certificate.
Plus one-minute refreshers that work well in a team huddle.
See where your service stands
The Customer Service Health Check rates your business across 17 dimensions of customer service, weighted to the channels your customers use.
Members get the full 102-question diagnostic with a prioritised action plan.
Live expert access
A relaxed, off-the-record Open Mic on Zoom every second Tuesday with ACXPA’s founder and CEO.
Plus monthly CX and Call Centre Roundtables, kept in a searchable library.
Plus member tools built for front desk teams
Onboard new starters faster
Induction checklists so every new team member learns your service standards from day one.
A complaints framework that works
The 7-Step Complaints Handling Framework, staff cheat sheets and logging tools.
480 Customer Response Templates
Written replies your team can adapt, included with Business Membership.
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 one $485 Foundations course save $606.25, more than a Business Membership costs.
Why CX Skills
Why our reception training gets better results
Reception is a specialist craft. Our programs are built for front desk, switchboard and concierge roles, so every skill maps to real reception work.
100% reception-focused
First impressions, visitors, transfers, messages and email etiquette, built for reception realities.
Practical sessions
Live role plays, desk simulations and switchboard practice with real-time coaching.
Trainers who’ve done it
Usually delivered by Simon Blair, one of Australia’s most experienced customer service trainers.
Built from experience
Thousands of receptionists trained across healthcare, corporate, education and hospitality.
Built for busy desks
Short, focused sessions fit rosters and peaks, with techniques for juggling competing tasks.
Industry standards
ACXPA certified, and built on the standards used to assess customer service.
Reviews
What participants say about our training
Verified reviews from people who’ve completed our reception and customer service courses.
374 verified reviews across all CX Skills courses
Read every reviewCustomer Service courses · 136 reviews
On Google · 39 reviews
Independently verified
Worthwhile training that builds confidence and enhances communication skills
The training course was very informative, well organised and well-paced. The facilitator (Simon) was experienced and explained the concepts clearly. I found it beneficial and would highly recommend it to others looking to build skills in this area. Thank you!
Absolutely Brilliant Trainer and Content!
This course was a great reminder of simple steps to polish our skills on reception. The presenter (Simon) made it fun and light hearted, but very informative.
I took away some great tools to use in my workplace. I would highly recommend this course!
Interactive & Enjoyable!
Simon’s training was a great learning experience. His interactive teaching style made the class truely enjoyable.
Excellent! Simon has improved my reception skills greatly
Simon took the time to explain every detail and answered any of my questions without judgement. His methods were clear, effective and have already improved my confidence. I strongly recommend him.
Engaging, informative and fun!
Simon was an engaging, supportive and fun facilitator for these sessions. He welcomed our mistakes, but also gave us information on how to work on them in the future. I would recommend Simon to anyone that wants to boost their customer service skills.
I think for me as someone who has been in customer service for over 5 years, the course was a bit simplified and I didn’t really learn anything new, but, if a newbie in customer service wanted to develop their skills then this would be the place for it. Nonetheless it was an excellent reminder of customer service processes I have learnt in the past.
Just What I Needed!
This course just what I needed. It was clear on its content and easy to follow. Thank you Simon for making it engaging and practical.
Great course - Informative and Enjoyable!
Thank you Simon for a great course. I not only learnt information about the psychological ways and behaviors of customers via phone/in person but also some dating tips too! We got to do role play of scenarios to understand and practice what it’s like to handle customers in various ways which was a great way for us to interact and be a part of the course. Very informative and especially enjoyed understanding the science behind our brain and how we process our emotions and logical side. e.g. amygdala part of the brain.
Great course! Great Trainer
I recently completed a 3-part training course with Simon (Reception PRO). It was incredibly helpful and practical, significantly enhancing my communication and writing skills. I highly recommend this course to anyone looking to improve their communication abilities.
Highly Recommended!
Highly recommend this course to anyone wanting to boost their skills and confidence with customer interactions and providing a high level of customer service.
Simon was a fantastic teacher, super friendly, extremely knowledgeable and takes pride in what he does. Thank you!
FAQs
Reception customer service training FAQs
Course options, delivery, pricing and who the training suits.
Who is reception customer service training for?
Essentials vs Foundations vs PRO: what changes?
- Essentials: the fundamentals in one 3-hour session.
- Foundations: 2 × 3-hour sessions with more coaching and role play.
- PRO: 3 × 3-hour live online sessions or a full day onsite, adding advanced techniques for high-pressure arrivals, conflicting priorities and service recovery. PRO is private only.
How much does reception customer service training cost?
Does live online training work for reception teams?
What’s the difference between public and private courses?
Can the training be customised for our organisation?
Do participants receive a certificate?
Is there a self-paced option?
How do I book?
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.
Ready to lift every first impression?
Book a ticket on a public course, train your whole team privately, or start self-paced today.