TROTWOOD, Ohio (WDTN) — The City of Trotwood announced a partnership to provide customer service training to businesses in the city.

This comes after Mayor Mary McDonald posted a video of the conditions inside the Dollar General off of Main St. in Trotwood. The video attracted a lot of attention on social media and sparked a conversation about the poor conditions inside. After speaking with city leaders and the management team at the Dollar General, Mayor McDonald said the store stepped up.

“I am impressed that they recognize that they had a problem and they got busy working on it,” Mayor McDonald said.

The Mayor is hoping to making lasting changes with customer service training. She is teaming up with Goodwill Easterseals Miami Valley to teach employees better ways to connect with customers and set them up for success.

“It seems that people don’t necessarily give the care to a customer, the respect to a customer that they deserve. So, I serve on the board of Goodwill Easterseals, and I thought we do a lot of certificate programs and we’ve just opened up a new facility here in Trotwood. And one thing that might be really good to add to this is a customer service component,” Mayor McDonald said.

Jen Bonifas is the Vice President of Program Services for Goodwill Easterseals Miami Valley. She said they have been providing this program for the last several years, and anyone can join. She said it typically takes a week to complete, but people learn more than just customer service skills.

“Through that training, individuals are able to earn a certification but also able to do some career mapping. So we work with them to identify potential pathways through customer service positions. Sometimes people aren’t fully aware of all the different pieces that come as a potential customer service career,” Bonifas explained.

Mayor McDonald does not want this to stop with Dollar General; she hopes every business in Trotwood will consider the training.

“Any person who chooses to spend with you as a customer or as a business owner, should be respected. And we want to remind people of that. And what I want for the people of Trotwood, I want the decency and respect that you would give any place else, to happen here in the city of Trotwood,” Mayor McDonald said.

If you are interested in the customer service training offered by Goodwill Easterseals Miami
Valley, contact Lavar Glover, Director of Operations for the West Campus Community
Service Center, at (937) 528-6075 or by e-mail to l.glover@gesmv.org.