A New Credential: Client Service Professional

Griffin Voltman, Certification Program Manager, QualityPro

Those of you who attended PestWorld 2023 already know our exciting news: QualityPro’s newest credential is for client service professionals. We gathered experts from across the industry to create an exam that truly tests the skills required of our industry’s client service professionals and we’re thrilled to announce that the credential is available now!

Why a Credential for CLIENT Service?

The simplest answer is that in our industry, everything everyone does is customer service.

More than that, QualityPro’s mission calls us to operate at every level of the industry, celebrating the professionalism that our people show every day. Technicians are often the most literal public face of our industry, but customers most regularly interact with office and sales staff—the heard but unseen triage clinic of the pest management industry. QualityPro exists to celebrate and uplift everyone who serves on the front lines, and to certify the knowledge, expertise and skill that our clients not only expect, but deserve.

QualityPro convened a taskforce for the creation of a Client Service Credential in May of 2023, bringing together subject matter experts from across the industry. The panel included managers and trainers from companies of all sizes, and was directed to identify the core skills, knowledge areas and behaviors that contribute to effective client service. The result is a comprehensive exam covering every area of customer service that an employee of a nationally-accredited QualityPro company should know. Those who pass this exam earn their Client Service Professional credential, which they can put on their resume and share with the world.

The credential is intended to certify a client service professional’s training, knowledge and skill. “This credential helps break the belief that customer service can’t be taught. It is a skill that many have worked hard to perfect and we are excited to recognize their dedication to professionalism with this credential,” says Allison Allen, executive director of QualityPro. Customers expect a uniform, transparent and accessible level of service, and QualityPro Client Service Professionals will be tested on their ability to provide it. Our goal is to demonstrate for our customers and our employees that these skills are a major area of focus, and that we take those who employ them as seriously as everything else we certify.

Customers expect a UNIFORM, TRANSPARENT AND ACCESSIBLE LEVEL OF SERVICE, and QualityPro Client Service Professionals will be tested on their ability to provide it.

What Will it Cover?

Those who register for the credentialing exam will receive a course outline covering topics like routine job tasks, active listening, customer retention, conflict resolution and communication practices. The standards for the skills on the exam have been developed by our panel of customer service and training experts, and represent national best practices. Concepts on the national exam apply to all companies, regardless of size, structure or software. The credential expands beyond basic sales and recordkeeping to cover what industry language to use with customers, how to practice and maintain resilience during rough customer conversations, how to use different styles of questions to both request and provide information to customers, and office safety practices.

When Can My Team Start Using It?

The exam is available to employees of QualityPro accredited companies through the new NPMA website and redesigned course registration process. Visit www.npmatraining.org today to sign up! If your company is not yet accredited by QualityPro, apply today at www.npmaqualitypro.org/apply.

The new course registration process makes registration easier than ever. Historically, the inability of training supervisors to quickly and conveniently add more than one student to a course at a time has been a major pain point—one our new process has removed. Under the new course registration process, users will be able to create multiple accounts for students and assign them course material at the same step out of the NPMA Online BugStore.

Once you pass the exam, your certificate of completion will be available at www.npmaqualitypro.org/certificate. We encourage everyone who has earned a credential through QualityPro to share the accomplishment with their network and broadcast the professionalism of our industry and the people in it.

Customer service is more than just answering the phone, it’s providing an experience—not just for the clients, but for everyone involved. A QualityPro Client Service Professional is a well-rounded, cross-trained, expert communicator just as capable of describing the service to the client as selling it, and of ensuring repeat business for their company through professionalism and care. This credential is an investment in your people, and a demonstration of your confidence in their future. They have the knowledge, the expertise and the skill to be at the front lines of our industry, and earning this credential is the proof.  

QualityPro is administered by the Foundation for Professional Pest Management, an independent organization that has been developing good business practices and standards since 2004. Designed specifically for pest management companies in the U.S. and Canada, we are proud to certify over 500 of the best companies in the pest management industry. QualityPro is endorsed by the National Pest Management Association (NPMA). For more information, contact us at QualityPro@pestworld.org.