Training environment
How the ghost companyis set up.
A small company with real software behind it: tools, written policy, fake data and a steady supply of cases to work.
The stack
Eight tools, each with a job.
All run on free tiers, developer orgs or trials. Free limits change, so check each vendor's current terms before you build your own.
| Tool | Its job here |
|---|---|
| Salesforce Sales Cloud | Leads, opportunities, products, quotes and pipeline reports. |
| Salesforce Scheduler | Consultation, site visit and install appointments. |
| Salesforce Service Cloud | Cases, knowledge articles and service-plan entitlements. |
| Zapier | Automations that pass data between the other apps. |
| HubSpot | Free CRM: contacts, deals and tickets. |
| Zoho Desk / Zendesk | Help desk: tickets, macros, views and SLAs. Zoho first, Zendesk trial later. |
| Jira | The install project board for crews and permits. |
| Google Sheets | Practice data, checklists and weekly reporting. |
Practice data
Everything in here is made up.
Every name, address, email, order number and account in this environment is invented. No real customer, no real business and no information about any real person is used. Messages go only to test mailboxes owned by the builder. Screenshots and videos use practice accounts with fake data. Do not enter real personal information into any form on this site.
Scenario types
Seven kinds of trouble.
Each scenario is a short card: who the customer is, what happened, what the policy says and what a good answer looks like. Scenarios can be delivered by hand or by a script that sends invented messages to test mailboxes.
Damaged item
A pot set arrives with two cracked pots.
You practiceTriage, ask for a photo, apply the replace-or-refund policy, log the cause.
Missing item
The almanac is not in the box.
You practiceCheck order and shipping records, resolve fast, spot repeat patterns.
Billing error
A customer sees a deposit charged twice.
You practiceRead the record, explain plainly, fix it with a clear paper trail.
Reschedule
A customer needs a new site visit or install slot.
You practiceMove the appointment, update every system, confirm in writing.
Cancellation threat
A customer says they will cancel after a delay.
You practiceListen, state facts, offer what policy allows, escalate when needed.
Warranty claim
A roof panel cracks in month five of a service plan.
You practiceCheck the entitlement, collect evidence, decide, document.
Install delay
Weather or backordered panels push an install a week.
You practiceWarn early, reset expectations, update the board, keep the customer informed.
Your own
Write a new card with the same fields: who, what happened, which policy applies, what a good answer looks like.
You practiceWriting scenarios is practice too.
What it trains
Skills.
- Triage and priority: what is urgent, what can wait
- Reading and applying written policy
- Clear replies a customer can act on
- Clean case and ticket records: status, fields, notes
- Root-cause notes that point at a process, not a person
- If-this-then-that automation design
- Importing and cleaning data
- Weekly reporting with numbers behind it
- Handoffs between sales, scheduling, crew and support
- Implementation basics: checklist, kickoff, testing with users, go-live
Why a company
Context.
A tool in isolation is a list of buttons. In a company, a field exists because someone needs a report, a status exists because a customer is waiting, and an automation exists because the same email was typed forty times.
That is why the practice company has products, prices, policies and two very different sales cycles.
How a day works
A run-sheet.
One working day in the practice company, in five blocks.
- OPEN1
Check the overnight queue
Triage by severity. Anything a customer is waiting on goes first. Note what is at risk of missing a reply target.
- MORNING2
Work cases and reviews
Answer tickets, work damaged and missing item cases, reply to reviews, request approvals for exceptions.
- MIDDAY3
Onboarding and quotes
Run a consultation or site visit booking, update opportunities, follow up open quotes.
- AFTERNOON4
Renewals and tuning
Check service plans due in 30 days. Update a macro, a knowledge article or an automation that caused a repeat question.
- CLOSE5
Report and plan
Update the sheet: cases opened and closed, installs on time, quotes outstanding. Write root causes. Set tomorrow's first three jobs.