Announcements

 

Academy Documents

Kindly access the Students' Policies & Forms by clicking on the button below. The following documents, among others, can be found there: Student Handbook, Student Code of Conduct, Students' Privacy Notice, Deferral, Suspension, and Cancellation Policy, Assignment Extension Policy, Re-Sit Policy, Complaints Procedure Policy, Equality Policy, and Student Disciplinary Policy.

Students' Policies & Forms

 

Online Sessions Link

To join the online sessions for this module, please click on the button below. If you are not already signed in to your Zoom account, you will be prompted to register your attendance. You will also need to enter the password provided below.

Join Session

Meeting ID: 979 5986 7151
Passcode: 101019

Please ensure that your name and surname appear as registered for the study programme, as this is essential for recording your attendance.

 

Lecture Schedule & Notes

Lecture notes will be available during the week following the respective lecture. Schedule dates are indicative and may change. All changes, if any, may be communicated via email, SMS or telephone calls.

LectureDateTimePresentationNotes (If Any)Session Recording
Lecture 0111 February 202517:30 to 20:00hrs
Lecture 0218 February 202517:30 to 20:00hrs
Lecture 0325 February 202517:30 to 20:00hrs
Lecture 044 March 202517:30 to 20:00hrs
Lecture 0511 March 202517:30 to 20:00hrs
Lecture 0618 March 202517:30 to 20:00hrs
Self Assessment Session 221 March 202517:30 to 18:30hrs

 

Lecturer/s  

Mr. Paul Gauci

 

Lecture Summaries & Suggested Reading 

Lecture 1 - Key Principles of Customer Service

Self -Assessment Session 01

Following this session students will learn:

  • The importance of excellent customer service.
  • Understand the role of customer service in the overall success of the organisation.
  • The key dimensions of customer service: Tangibles, Reliability; Responsiveness, Assurance, Empathy

Core Reading List

  • Watkinson, M. (2013) The ten principles behind Great Customer Experiences. New York: Pearson Financial Times.

Supplementary Reading List

  • Webb, N.J. (2017) What customers crave: How to create relevant and memorable experiences at every touchpoint. New York: AMACOM, American Management Association

 

Lecture 2 - Inter-Personal Communication

Following this session students will learn:

  • To communicate clearly and professionally with customers, both verbally and non-verbally.
  • To listen actively and empathetically to customer concerns, inquiries, and feedback.
  • To utilise questioning techniques to identify the needs of different customers.

Core Reading List

  • Watkinson, M. (2013) The ten principles behind Great Customer Experiences. New York: Pearson Financial Times.

Supplementary Reading List

  • Webb, N.J. (2017) What customers crave: How to create relevant and memorable experiences at every touchpoint. New York: AMACOM, American Management Association

 

Lecture 3 - Assertive Communication

Following this session students will learn:

  • To adopt an assertive, mutually benefit attitude when communicating with customers.
  • To avoid submissive or aggressive behaviours.
  • To enhance assertiveness as a communication style.

Core Reading List

  • Watkinson, M. (2013) The ten principles behind Great Customer Experiences. New York: Pearson Financial Times.

Supplementary Reading List

  • Webb, N.J. (2017) What customers crave: How to create relevant and memorable experiences at every touchpoint. New York: AMACOM, American Management Association

 

Lecture 4 - Handling Difficult Customers

Following this session students will learn:

  • To apply active complaint handling techniques to identify and address customer needs.
  • To remain calm and composed when dealing with difficult or upset customers.
  • To learn from complaints and avoid repetition.

Core Reading List

  • Watkinson, M. (2013) The ten principles behind Great Customer Experiences. New York: Pearson Financial Times.

Supplementary Reading List

  • Webb, N.J. (2017) What customers crave: How to create relevant and memorable experiences at every touchpoint. New York: AMACOM, American Management Association

 

Lecture 5 - Achieving Success through Self-Motivation

Following this session students will learn:

  • To enhance positivity and take ownership through developing an internal locus of control mind-set.
  • To maintain and increase self-motivation.
  • To set personal and team goals for continuous improvement in customer service.
  • To contribute to a culture of continuous learning and development within the customer care team

Core Reading List

  • Watkinson, M. (2013) The ten principles behind Great Customer Experiences. New York: Pearson Financial Times.

Supplementary Reading List

  • Webb, N.J. (2017) What customers crave: How to create relevant and memorable experiences at every touchpoint. New York: AMACOM, American Management Association

 

Lecture 6 - Relationship Management

Following this session students will learn:

  • To build strong customer relationships and foster customer retention.
  • Anticipate customer needs and proactively offer assistance and solutions.

Core Reading List

  • Watkinson, M. (2013) The ten principles behind Great Customer Experiences. New York: Pearson Financial Times.

Supplementary Reading List

  • Webb, N.J. (2017) What customers crave: How to create relevant and memorable experiences at every touchpoint. New York: AMACOM, American Management Association

 

Methods of Assessment

Self-Assessment (20% of final grade): Students are required to complete a multiple-choice test during the first lecture of the module on 1st October 2024. The test sheet and answers will be provided in an additional 30-minute session, scheduled for 25th October 2024 at 18:00 hrs. Students will be expected to mark their own submissions.

Assignment (80% of final grade).

 

Assignment

You are required to choose one of the three questions available in the Assignment Submission Form made available by clicking the button below. The assignment must be submitted no later than Thursday, 8 May 2025, along with the Assignment Submission Form. Please ensure that you indicate the question you have addressed on the Assignment Submission Form.

The Assignment Submission Form will be made available here.

For guidance on how to plan, draft, and submit your assignment, please refer to the 21 Academy presentation on Writing and Submitting Your Assignment by clicking the button below.

Writing and Submitting Your Assignment

We are also providing the 21 Academy's Assignments Rubric for your reference. This rubric is a performance-based assessment tool that tutors will use for grading, and it will help you understand the requirements of the assignment and how it will be assessed.

Assignments Rubric

For referencing purposes, please use the OSCOLA Referencing Guide available by clicking the button below.

OSCOLA Referencing Guide

 

Submitting Assignment - Turnitin

The Academy will notify you via email when the assignment questions become available. Shortly after, you will receive another email from Turnitin, likely on the same day, confirming your enrolment in a "class" where you can upload your assignment(s).

Please ensure that your assignments are submitted no later than 23:59 on the assignment submission deadline, as indicated on the Assignment Submission form or in the Turnitin "class."

At 21 Academy, you have the option to submit multiple drafts before the final submission deadline. The version uploaded at the deadline will be treated as your final submission for assessment. Please note that Turnitin evaluates the same assignment twice within a 24-hour period, so any additional submissions during this time will not be reviewed until the 24-hour period has passed. Ensure that your final submission does not exceed 20% similarity, particularly when using direct quotations.

Follow this very short video to understand how to submit your assignment through Turnitin

Submitting a Paper

To understand the similarity report generated by Turnitin follow this 1 minute video

Understanding the Similarity Report

 

Referencing Style

Your assignments, presentations and reflective notes should be referenced using the Harvard Referencing style. Please follow a short video, by clicking on the button below, to understand this referencing style.

Harvard Referencing Style