The Customer Service Training Network is proud to announce our assessors below as:
I started my company in August 2010, before that I was the Commercial Development Director for CEMEX Materials UK one of the largest construction materials suppliers in the world. I was responsible for a Key Accounts Managers team, all major projects across the UK, market strategy and training of the sales force. This included customer service staff, sales representatives and sales managers. With the exception of a 5 year period, when I worked as the Sales Manager for Qanber Ready-mix in Saudi Arabia, I have worked for CEMEX (formerly RMC Ltd) since 1978.I have experience as an Area Director with the responsibility for the profit and running of 30 production units. At the same time I had to ensure the health and safety and welfare of 178 employees and 49 Independent Hauliers.
Throughout my career I have been involved in training and the setting up of new Customer Service Centres the last one which entailed recruiting 50 new staff was at Rugby. Over 150 people were interviewed before enough people, with the right work ethics and commitment could be selected to be trained to carry out the customer service duties.
On leaving CEMEX I was asked to work with them as a consultant assisting in developing and delivering management training and team building programmes. At this present time I am training their Sales Agents based at one of their Customer Service Centres.
I am an Accredited Trainer with CSTN and a member of the Institute of Customer Service. I have a level 4 City and Guilds certificate for teaching in the Lifelong Learning Sector plus a Level 3 City & Guilds certificate in Conflict Management. I have also been trained by UK-TEFL to teach non English speakers how to speak English.
Geoff Langston is the Founder and Managing Director of Arizion Limited, the Customer Service Training and Leadership and Management Training company with a portfolio of clients in the private and public sectors, ranging from small businesses to large corporations in the UK and mainland Europe. His passion for excellent customer service and for enabling people at all levels to realise their potential is the foundation for the success he brings through his approach.
Geoff is a member of the Institute of Customer Service (ICS); the Institute of Leadership and Management (ILM); a founder member of the Customer Service Training Network (CSTN); a published author of articles about customer service and a qualified coach. He is a MBTI (Myers Briggs Type Indicator) Step 1 and Step 2 practitioner; a Master Practitioner in NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming); and formerly an Assessor for Investors in People (IIP).
With more than 30 years experience in customer facing environments, Geoff started his career in food retailing managing a variety of stores, before moving into field management and then into a central support role successfully setting up and running a communications centre for the organisation. The role expanded to include management recruitment and development including succession planning for the group resulting in reduced staff turnover, increased competence; and management productivity.
A move into Human Resources at corporate headquarters saw Geoff develop, produce and deliver a customer service training strategy and programme for the organisation. This included trainer guides; team member packs and an industry award winning video. The material is still in daily use today. In 2004, Geoff set up his own training business, Arizion Limited, delivering executive
coaching; leadership and management training; and customer service training. Geoff’s breadth of experience enables him to engage successfully at all levels within an organisation, from team members to executive management. Arizion focuses on attitudes and behaviours that to positively impact an individuals’; teams’; and therefore ultimately, on organisational performance. In 2008, Arizion developed and introduced a suite of workshops, accredited to the Institute of Leadership and Management (ILM), the leadership development body widely recognised in the UK. Successful completion of training provides delegates with a recognised qualification.
Geoff’s interests include cycling, music reading and travel. For more information please see attached e-brochure and contact: geofflangston@arizion.co.uk
Jo Higton is a Senior Customer Service Consultant at Customer Plus, providing services in the areas of research, training and communication. We love helping our clients to deliver great customer experience. Jo is responsible for designing and implementing learning solutions provided by Customer Plus and delivering majority of training.
Jo is an experienced trainer and manager in a range of operational environments including retail, contact centre, professional services and public sector. Jo previously worked with Argos, Homeserve and Domestic & General where she qualified as a trainer and developed her skills around the full training cycle.
Her current clients include Ford Retail, Interfleet Technology, and Rentokil Initial. Customer Plus were engaged by Ford Retail to formulate full life cycle of customer experience improvement project as well as driving employee motivation. Jo designed and delivered 116 'Moments of Truth' workshops across 8 regions and personally trained 2,359 employees across multiple employee levels. This resulted in 2,251 employees completing their workbooks achieving either NVQ Level 2 in Customer Service or Institute of Customer Service accredited Diploma. Her work with Ford Retail has won three awards:
Jo is a mathematics graduate of Sheffield University, a member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel Development and an NLP master practitioner. Jo is an accredited customer service trainer and assessor with the Customer Service Training Network and the Institute of Customer Service. She is an Associate Lecturer in Leadership and Marketing at the University of Derby.
