That’s a Wrap!

Customer Service Training for

Crate & Barrel Sales
Team Members

Ensuring Exceptional Customer Satisfaction and

Effective Sales Tactics through Improvisational
Techniques

Prepared by Nick Fleming

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Abstract:

Managers at a local Crate & Barrel location have observed that sales people only ring up

what is brought to them by customers without much personal interaction and rarely make any

recommendations unless repeatedly prompted by customers. The sales team does not feel

confident suggesting ideas for customers while they shop or proposing add-ons to the

merchandise they bring to the register. This problem based training experience will provide

sales associates the chance to define customer problems/needs by learning to ask the right

questions, discover solutions to common inquiries, and build confidence in interactions through

performing improvised and partially scripted scenes. The learners will need to define the

problems they will face and create interactions from start to finish, collaborating with each

other in the process. They are not required to make the scenes funny or deliberately write

jokes by any means, but humor tends to arise naturally from the other employees’ recognition

of the scenarios, exaggerated or otherwise. And laughter is vital to this design, cementing the

learning experience in the associates’ minds through an emotional connection. Secret shoppers

will assess their on the job performance before and after the training.

Literature Review:

Improvisation has become more popular as a teaching tool in recent years. Berk &

Trieber discuss its usefulness comparing standard, didactic instruction to performing a scripted

play where every detail strictly stems from what is written in the script. The instruction style is

very instructor focused; what is on the script for the lecture is set in stone. Alternately, learner
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centered instruction already shares qualities of an improvised show where the content is driven

by the people in the room in collaborative effort. The audience has a say in what happens on

stage, moving from being spectators to being participants. The writers of this article suggest

four examples of improv games which can foster collaborative learning in “net generation”

students: One Word at a Time/One Sentence at a Time, Speech Tag, Freeze Tag, and Gibberish

Expert Interview. Follow up questions and discussion occur after each game.

By figuring out what to do instead of just being told, employees are learning through

inductive discovery. Beyond the obvious improvisation activities directly involved in both my

proposal and this article, the main takeaway is the discussion and follow up questions

afterward. This is where the lessons really take form and sink in. Knowing the right questions

to ask is vital here as “research suggests that the types and levels of questions asked are the

keys to eliciting deep learning from students” (Harrison as cited in Berk & Trieber, 2009, p. 39).

This is where even a “bad” improv scene can turn out to be helpful in understanding what went

wrong.

This also lines up with Merrill’s five principles for effective, meaningful instruction

wherein learning is best promoted when learners: engage in solving real world problems,

activate their prior knowledge as a base on which to build new knowledge, have new

knowledge demonstrated to them, apply the new skills and knowledge to other scenarios, and

begin to integrate them into their work. The customer service skills I seek to instill fit nicely

with these principles. The experiential learning design I am proposing will be problem centered

and lead toward associates getting to the application and integration phases (let me & watch

me). The sales people will be able to retain product knowledge and customer interaction skills
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better when portrayal is favored over didactic information dissemination. “Learners remember

and can apply information far more readily when the information includes specific portrayals.”

(Merrill, 2002, p. 48). The demonstration phase of this design includes a scene wherein the

instructors guide learners through a difficult customer service problem to resolution before

they have to come up with their own scenarios.

Jonassen’s “Learning to solve problems: a handbook for designing problem-solving” helps to

define problem-solving learning environment concepts and guide designers toward appropriate

teaching focus with research-based advice. I would define portraying the customer issues in

the scenes as a more ill-structured version of a story problem combined with decision-making

problem into even a design problem (Jonassen, 2011, p. 1-24). The latter being a bit rarer in the

scenarios but it can happen if the sales associate is proposing a full design for decorating an

entire room of the customer’s house. This is a skill specifically employed by the furniture sales

associates, but should be valued by the whole team. Task-relevant problem-solving questions

will foster the skills I am attempting to instill in the sales people in my training module. Peer

and instructor questions will be used to focus casual reasoning (Jonassen, 2011, p. 295-296).

Modeling problems within the scenes will help employees to test the skills they are learning in a

real conversation rather than just imagining how another person might react. They have a

chance to adapt in the moment so they are “better able… to transfer their skills” (Jonassen,

2011, p. 309).

Humor is vital to this design in that it is a form of communication beneficial in problem-

based learning environments. Studied by Chauvet & Hofmeyer, specifically for nursing students

who will go on to have particularly stressful jobs, humor aids with building trust and comradery
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among the sales team when proper ground rules are applied and mutual respect is maintained

in the process. Beyond just making jokes, humor can be incorporated into the

classroom/training session via: “acceptance that fun and humor are components of the ground

rules in the group; appropriate humor and boundaries; mutual story sharing; and creative

activities to moderate stress and build coping strategies to thrive in clinical practice” (Chauvet &

Hofmeyer, 2007, p. 286). Allowing these strategies to develop in a given learning environment

facilitates stress coping, critical thinking, and problem solving skills vital to nursing students in

particular. Though a retail job should not necessarily be as stressful as the very real life and

death issues nurses deal with, some customers still come into stores with a life/death attitude

concerning their immediate needs; therefore the inter-professional communication skills

discussed in the paper can translate directly to how associates will interact with customers.

Either way, stress is stress and we could all benefit from stress coping mechanisms.

Still missing from many of these articles is how proper evaluation can be done to ensure

its value to the company in the end. Chapter 10 of Reiser & Dempsey’s Trends and Issues in

Instructional Design and Technology defines evaluation in instructional design and lays out

some of the major evaluation models. In order to determine the “merit, worth, and value of”

(Scriven as cited in Reiser & Dempsey, 2018, p. 87) this learning experience I will focus in on

Kirkpatrick’s training evaluation model, placing particular emphasis on levels three & four. In

order to obtain positive level three success (transfer of training) it is imperative to have

managers and supervisors encourage or even require the sales associates to employ the new

skills and attitudes into their work. Retrospective surveys will be used to measure this transfer

of training. Level four results, though difficult to validate, should be the overarching goal. Most
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importantly the assessments from the secret shoppers will be compared to the overall sales

performance of this Crate & Barrel location. I would hope this training could lead to better

worker moral, increased job satisfaction, higher quality of work, which would in turn lead to

increased sales and profits.

Blueprint:

Overview: This face to face training experience is design to foster better customer

service interactions on the sales floor. By the end, associates should be able to:

 Analyze customer’s initial concerns or requests

 Investigate through questions and conversation and Infer what the customer really
desires
 Apply improvisational techniques to deliver an enjoyable experience for the customer
 Design a plan, on the fly, recalling product knowledge in order to fulfill the customer’s
needs
Scope: These sessions will help Crate & Barrel sales associates build confidence in their

product knowledge and customer service skills. Through writing scenes and performing

improvised scenes they will have the chance to define customer problems/needs, learn to ask

the right questions, discover solutions to common inquiries, and feel more secure in

interactions on the sales floor.

Course Length: There are two training sessions, a week apart, which last two and three

hours respectively. In the week between the two sessions employees should watch three

instructional videos which are about 20 minutes each in preparation. The beginning

introductions and presentation should be fairly quick, done in the first half hour of the first
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session, leaving a half hour for warm-up games and the last hour for discussion and

assessment. The second session has a brief review of customer service best practices, but at

least an hour should be devoted to the improv scenes being performed. The remaining time is

for discussion and assessment.

Target Audience: Entry-level sales associates, both full-time and part-time, who have

need of conversational and analytical/problem-solving skills on the sales floor.

Prerequisites:
 New employee orientation
 Technology training on the Point of Sale (POS) system and Rumba merchandise
database
 Other applicable training such as how to wrap and box items safely during the
transaction.
Assessment: Knowledge checks and reflection. Through written scenes and improvised

scenes employees should exhibit ability to define customer needs and relate the necessary

knowledge to fulfill those needs.

Evaluation: Pretest/posttest secret shoppers assess individuals and the store at large by

interacting with sales associates from being greeted to the end of the transaction. Looking for

improved performance in employees recommending merchandise as add-ons, and help to

increase sales and repeat business through positive customer interactions.

Media: Instructional videos about 15 to 20 minutes in length which provide information and

tips about specific products within the different departments: Glassware, Dinnerware,

Furniture, Entertaining, Basics, Kitchen, Machines, and Kids (Land of Nod). Associates get to

decide which ones to watch based on their needs and interests.

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Module # Learning Outcomes Learning Resources Learning Activities Assessments

Module 1: Analyze customer’s Introduction: Improvisation Pretest: secret
Establishing a initial concerns or course overview Games: warmup shoppers
connection requests and intro to the games played to evaluate
between fun, idea that humor reduce anxiety and customer service
humorous games Investigate through and improv have an foster practices before
and sales questions and effect on sales teambuilding, training
interactions conversation facilitating the
Introduction ability to anticipate Diagnostic/Self-
Infer what the Scenes: success your partner’s next Assessment:
customer really case and failure move/words what skills could
desires case are presented you hone up on
by facilitators Small Group (POS, RUMBA,
Discussion: how wrapping/boxing,
Presentation: given can humor and etc.)
on general improvisation help
outcomes of the character(s) in Knowledge
pretest the failure scene Check: which
assessments overcome products are you
without giving away obstacles caused by afraid to have
secret shopper the customer and customers ask
details their own you about
deficiencies

Define: what
situations come up
on the sales floor
which need to be
addressed

Write: your own

version of some
short scenes as
success/failure
cases

Module 2: Apply Instructional Improvised Scenes: Posttest: secret

Developing the improvisational Videos: selected by small groups shoppers
techniques used techniques to each associate and perform scenes evaluate
to provide deliver an watched based on common customer service
insightful and enjoyable throughout the situations as a practices after
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memorable experience for the week; planning to jumping off point, training
customer customer use info from integrating product
interactions selected videos in knowledge and Re-write: the
Recall product scenes customer service scenes from
knowledge to fulfill skill into the module 1 with
customer needs Customer Service: interactions better customer
best practices presented service skills
Design a plan, on reviewed
the fly, for the Discussion: as a Reflection: how
fulfillment of whole discuss what has acting out
customer needs was portrayed in (and watching)
the scenes; how these scenes
could you achieve changed your
the same or better thought process
outcomes taking for approaching
different paths customers and
did
playing/writing
for the customer
help you gain
perspective
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Prototype: Double click the image below to open PowerPoint.

Th a t’s a Wra p !
C u sto m e r Se rvic e Tra in in g fo r
C ra te & Ba rre l Sa le s Te a m Me m b e rs

Nic k Fle m in g
C o n c o rd ia Un ive rsity C h ic a g o

Assessment:

Crate & Barrel will hire secret shoppers via a third party to come in and assess the

customer service skills of their sales associates before and after the training. Store managers

and regional managers will be asked what specific skills they feel are lacking and let the

personal shoppers know. In addition to the managers' specific concerns they are looking for

increased ease of conversation, being greeted upon entering the store, and being approached

by a sales associate if one is free while they are browsing. Pretending to be a legitimate

customer they will play out a common scenario such as asking for advice with a gift giving

specifics about the recipient, or needing help deciding between different types of the same

product, etc. Each will be looking for the customer service skills to have improved after training

in a sampling of employees.
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During the actual training modules, the diagnostic self-assessments of product

knowledge gaps should assist the individual associates in making their video selections

throughout the week. The group work will be assessed by trainers looking for key interaction

strategies such as asking analytic and evaluative questions of the customer in order to get at

the root of what they really need. These strategies should also come up in the reflection short

essays (by individuals) and re-writes of the original scenes they watched in module one (done in

groups). In addition to the customer service skills being taught, during the improvised scenes

trainers will look for tidbits of information learned from the videos. Someone might suggest a

durable flatware if the customer mentions they have young children, and someone else might

mention how a vase was hand blown in Poland giving the customer something interesting to

think about while considering whether to buy this potentially expensive vase. Specific sales

goals are decided between the store managers and corporate, so we are looking for

improvements in this area based on their decisions.

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References:

Berk, R. A., & Trieber, R. H. (2009). Whose classroom is it, anyway? Improvisation as a teaching

tool. Journal on Excellence in College Teaching, 20(3), 29-60.

Chauvet, S., & Hofmeyer, A. (2007). Humor as a facilitative style in problem-based learning

environments for nursing students. Nurse Education Today, 27(4), 286-292.

Jonassen, D. H. (2011). Learning to solve problems: a handbook for designing problem-solving

learning environments. New York: Routledge.

Merrill, M. D. (2002). First principles of instruction. Educational technology research and

development, 50(3), 43-59.

Reiser, R. A., & Dempsey, J. V. (2018). Trends and issues in instructional design and technology

(4th ed.). New York, NY: Pearson.