The effectiveness of customer service training interventions – a systematic review of the literature

Abstract

Abstract: Customer Service (CS) training interventions are viewed as a core requirement for frontline staff in the services industry. This study sought to identify the effectiveness of CS interventions to improve CS initiatives in the South African tourism, hospitality and retail industries. A search of the relevant literature was conducted using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta- Analysis (PRISMA) Guidelines. Peer-reviewed studies were identified using a comprehensive search strategy in four electronic databases namely Ebscohost, Jstor, Sciencedirect and GoogleScholar. Three overarching themes identified in CS training interventions were the shift from training to personal transformation or employee empowerment, behaviour modelling of CS behaviours by employees who had not attended the interventions, and the use of self-management techniques