We recognize that you may have a very limited training budget and that priorities shift and change. We try our best to reduce cost as a barrier to making use of our training services. Below are a few suggestions you may consider as ways to use our services, and fit them into your available budget.

First, A Note On Budgets

There's a tendency for there to be little money for soft skill training -- communication, for example, amidst all the other government training priorities. Also, training under Workplace, Safety and Health regulations is often budgeted for separately since it's mandated, and MUST get done.

Consider whether your WS&H budget can be applied to defusing angry customer training. It may. It may not, but you can make a strong argument that our programs are designed to PREVENT verbal altercations from escalating into physical violence. And of course physical violence falls directly under WS&H topic areas.

In addition, most jurisictions recognize that verbal abuse constitutes workplace harrassment, which is, in turn, considered workplace violence in most policies. Again, that makes it easier to fund our training.

One more aspect of government budgeting to consider is that you may actually be able to purchase our workbook at a bulk discount, even though you have no training budget. It depends on whether the allocation codes for books are different than for training, and often they will be because one has to do with physical products, the other to do with services. It's often hugely easier to buy books than seminars in today's economic climate.

Some Cost Saving Options and Tips For Government

Multiple Sessions On A Single Travel Trip

We price on a PER PROJECT basis. The more sessions you ask us to do, whether for you, or on the same site visit, the lower your costs. The differences can be huge, as much as a savings of $2,000 per actual session.

Also, because air fares are the same whether we do one session or ten sessions, try to group things together. If you are in driving range of our location near Ottawa, this is less of an issue.

Work With Other Departments and Jurisdictions To Set Up More Sessions

This is one of the best things you can do to reduce seminar costs. There are several ways to do this. If you would like us to deliver a seminar for your staff, consider letting other departments know, and ask them if they would like to set up their own sessions on the same "trip". Again, it's the multiple session thing.

The second way is to offer "seats" to the training to other departments, or even other organizations, to defray costs, and/or to recoup costs. This is ideal for training departments who get paid by their "internal to government" clients on a per seat basis. It's also conceivable for such departments to also generate a revenue stream.

Sponsor A Seminar For Non-Government or Not-For-Profit

Depending on your role in government, you may not be allowed to do this, but some government departments can offer training to external businesses, and recoup or actually engender a profit. For example, consider offering a seminar to other businesses on a paid basis if that's your mandate. We DO work with both non-profits and commercial enterprises.

Couple this with training your own staff (on the same trip), and you may drive your costs to zero.

Take Advantage Of Our Flexible Pricing

We negotiate projects on a case by case basis, and we will consider things like:

• your available budget
• urgency of the situations your staff face
• size of your organization and size of your jurisdiction - For example, we're happy to negotiate special prices for small municipalities.
• distance, and ease of travel
• possibility of building an ongoing relationship
• number of total sessions and length

Please talk to us about your constraints, and we'll do our best to work with you.

Maximize Group Size

Over twenty years of delivering defusing angry customer seminars, we've found that group size isn't necessarily a huge factor that affects learning. That's not to say that doing a half day session for 350 people is the same as doing one for 15 people, but we recognize there's a middle ground that optimizes efficiency while not killing off learning. Again, talk to us and we'll recommend something that fits for your situation.

Generally, any group size of less than thirty is fine. However, it depends on length of seminar.

Finally, If You Are Really Stuck?

Consider bringing us in to do a shorter speaking engagement with your staff, or open to other government departments on the topic of defusing difficult customers. If you couple this with purchase of our books in bulk, this can work to raise awareness, and at least provide access to the tools we teach.