Suggested Grade Level
Approximate Time Needed
You will work in groups of three to stage a role-‐play of a hypothetical customer service situation. One student will be the customer, one will be the employee, and the third will be an observer. The observer will have the responsibility to fill out a form and offer feedback to the employee.
Your teacher will assign you one of the scenarios below and after you have decided who will play which role, take five minutes to prepare. If you are playing the “customer”, try assuming a personality different from your own. Portraying an imaginary character adds more creativity and the freedom to have fun. If you are playing an “employee,” do your best to handle the situation as if it were real. If the customer asks to “speak to the manager,” say that the manager is not available.
Remember that the employee should practice active listening skills and the observer should think about empathy as he/she gives feedback during the debriefing of the role play.
Observers: As an observer of the Customer Service role-‐plays, your job is to identify what works well and what doesn’t. Focus on empathy and listening skills. As you observe, fill out the Observer Checklist in the handout.
This lesson should come after Be an Active Listener Activity.
Divide students into groups of three to stage a role-play of customer service. Assign each group one of the 5 scenarios listed on their handout and tell them to decide who will be the customer, who will be the employee, and who will be the observer. The observer will have the responsibility to fill out a form and offer feedback to the employee.
After they have decided who will play which role, give students five minutes to prepare. Encourage the students playing the “customers” to assume a personality different from their own. Portraying an imaginary character adds more creativity and will give the interns freedom to have fun.
When briefing the “employees,” encourage them to do their best to handle the situation as if it were real. Tell them if the customer asks to “speak to the manager,” they can say that the manager is not available. Remind the employees to practice active listening skills.
While customers and employees prepare, you will meet with the observers to review the Observer Checklist for Customer Service Scenarios. Suggest that the observers think about empathy as they give feedback during the debriefing of the role play. Have them answer the question: Why is it important for both the employee and the customer to have empathy?
If there is not enough time for every group to present their role-play to the class, ask for two or three groups to volunteer. You may want to assign the same role-play to several groups and then have just one of them present to the class with the others contributing to the debriefing discussion.
Complete Customer Service Role-Plays handout
This activity introduces students to the characteristics of good customer service and explore how they use empathy and good listening skills in their interactions.
This activity gives students an opportunity to reflect on their internship experiences and the key takeaways from related lessons, such as what skills, techniques, and concepts can be applied to college and future work.