Customer Service Awards Blog

How to Win Two Stevie Awards for Your Great Customer Service

Posted by Michael Gallagher on Tue, Dec 30, 2014 @ 03:05 PM

Most people are taking some time at the end of the year to relax and reminisce about the year that has passed.  We here at the Stevie Awards, however, are busy preparing for a busy 2015.  Among the things that will keep us busy right after the turn of the year is the January 13 final entry deadline for the 9th annual Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service, the world's top contact center and customer service awards program.  Each year this competition attracts more than 1,500 nominations from top organizations all over the world.

There are many categories to choose from in the competition, and you'll find a complete listing of the customer service and contact center categories and their requirements below.

It's pretty simple to submit entries to this or any other of our awards programs. Before we get to the subject of how to win two Stevies with a single entry, here's a brief description of the entry process.

1. Choose your categories.

The question we get most often from prospective entrants is, How do I choose the categories that are right for me? We answer that question with another question: What do you want to be recognized for? Your answer to that question will steer you to the appropriate categories. We invite you to contact us at help@stevieawards.com for suggestions if following that bit of advice doesn't do the trick, though.

2. Prepare your entries according to the category instructions.

Most categories in the 2015 Sales & Customer Service awards require only the submission of an essay of up to 650 words, describing the nominee's achievements since the beginning of July 2013. (Depending on the category, the nominee can be an entire organization, a department or team, an individual... even a product or service or achievement.) You have the option to upload with your essay any number of supporting documents and files to help make your case to the judges. These can include work samples, videos, images, press clippings... whatever you think will convince and impress.

3. Upload your entries through the website.

The website at www.StevieAwards.com/Sales is open 24 hours a day to accept your entries. You can even pay your entry fees online by credit card (or choose to pay by check or wire transfer). If you've already written your entries and gathered your supporting materials, it won't take you more than a few minutes to start and finish the online entry process.

PCSAFCSNow, back to that bit about how to win two Stevies with a single entry. One of the most popular features of the Sales & Customer Service awards is called the People's Choice Stevie Awards for Favorite Customer Service. This is a worldwide public vote in which the general public gets to cast their ballots for their favorite providers of customer service in a number of industry categories. (See the list of 2014 winners here.) All entries that are chosen as Finalists in any of the Customer Service Department of the Year categories will automatically be included in people's choice voting, which will open to the public on January 22, the day that the Finalists are publicly announced. People's choice nominees will receive from us a set of tools they can use to encourage their customers, employees, shareholders, friends and followers to vote for them. The top vote-getter in each category will receive a beautiful crystal People's Choice trophy.

So that's how you can win two Stevies with a single entry:

1. Submit a great entry to any of the Customer Service Department of the Year categories in the 2015 Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service. If that entry is chosen as a Finalist, it's assured of ultimately being named a Gold, Silver or Bronze Stevie Award winner.

3. Promote the heck out of your automatic People's Choice Stevie Awards for Favorite Customer Service nomination to all of your customers, employees, friends and followers, and you might also walk from the awards gala on February 27 at the Bellagio in Las Vegas with a People's Choice Stevie Award as well as a Gold, Silver or Bronze Stevie.

Categories

Here are all the categories related to customer service and contact centers in the 2015 Sales & Customer Service awards. There are many other categories as well in the competition, for sales, business development, new products and services, and suppliers. (Look here for a complete list of categories.)

CUSTOMER SERVICE & CONTACT CENTER INDIVIDUAL CATEGORIES
The customer service and contact center individual categories recognize individual contact center and customer service professionals.
Information required for entries in these categories include:
(a) An essay of up to 650 words describing the nominee’s accomplishments since July 1, 2013. 
(b) Optional (but highly recommended), a collection of supporting files and web addresses that you may upload to our server to support your entry and provide more background information to the judges. At the very least you should provide a link to the organization's website.

55. Front-Line Customer Service Professional of the Year
Recognizing the achievements of customer service professionals who directly engage customers. This category is split into five separate categories:
   a. Business Services Industries: recognizes achievements of professionals in business services industries such as advertising, consulting, marketing, public relations, recruiting, etc.
   b. Financial Services Industries: recognizes the achievements of professionals in the accounting, banking, financial services, insurance, etc. industries.
   c. Other Service Industries: recognizes achievements of professionals in services industries such as financial services, healthcare, hospitality & leisure, legal, media & entertainment, real estate, retail, etc.
   d. Technology Industries: recognizes achievements of professionals in technology industries such as computer software, computer services, computer hardware, internet/new media, and telecommunications.
   e. All Other Industries: recognizes achievements of professionals in all industries not covered by the other Front-Line Customer Service Professional of the Year categories.

56. Back-Office Customer Service Professional of the Year
Recognizing the achievements of customer service professionals who work behind the front lines of customer service organizations for their achievements since the beginning of July 2013.

57. Young Customer Service Professional of the Year
Recognizing the achievements of customer service professionals under the age of 30.

58. Customer Service Manager of the Year
Recognizing the achievements of customer service managers and service professionals with a managerial role at organizations of any size, of any type.

59. Customer Service Leader of the Year
Recognizing the achievements of senior customer service and call center executives.

60. Contact Center Professional of the Year
Recognizing the achievements of non-executive professionals who work in a call or contact center.

61. Contact Center Manager of the Year
Recognizing the achievements of contact or call center managers for their achievements since the beginning of July 2013.

62. Contact Center Leader of the Year
Recognizing the achievements of senior contact or call center executives for their achievements since the beginning of July 2013.

CUSTOMER SERVICE & CONTACT CENTER TEAM CATEGORIES
The customer service team and contact center awards categories recognize the members of individual teams within your overall customer service department or contact center organization.   For example, the team may service a particular customer segment or a single client, or may work in a particular call center. 
Information required for entries in these categories include:
(a) An essay of up to 650 words describing the customer service team’s accomplishments since July 1, 2013.
(b) Optional (but highly recommended), a collection of supporting files and web addresses that you may upload to our server to support your entry and provide more background information to the judges. At the very least you should provide a link to the organization's website.

65. Customer Service Team of the Year – Recovery Situation
Recognizing service teams who have demonstrated exceptional skill in recovering either an individual case or in rebuilding an underperforming service department.

66. Customer Service Complaints Team of the Year
Recognizing service teams whose primary focus is to address and resolve customer complaints.

67. Front-Line Customer Service Team of the Year.
Recognizing service teams that directly engage customers. This category is split into five separate categories:
   a. Business Services Industries: recognizes achievements of teams in business services industries such as advertising, consulting, marketing, public relations, recruiting, etc.
   b. Financial Services Industries: recognizes the achievements of teams in the accounting, banking, financial services, insurance, etc. industries.
   c. Other Service Industries: recognizes achievements of teams in services industries such as financial services, healthcare, hospitality & leisure, legal, media & entertainment, real estate, retail, etc.
   d. Technology Industries: recognizes achievements of teams in technology industries such as computer software, computer services, computer hardware, internet/new media, and telecommunications.
   e. All Other Industries: recognizes achievements of teams in all industries not covered by the other Front-Line Customer Service Team of the Year categories.

68. Back Office Customer Service Team of the Year
Recognizing teams that provide service functions that do not directly engage customers, such as billing, credit and collections, payments, security and support services. This category is split into five separate categories:
   a. Business Services Industries: recognizes achievements of teams in business services industries such as advertising, consulting, marketing, public relations, recruiting, etc.
   b. Financial Services Industries: recognizes the achievements of teams in the accounting, banking, financial services, insurance, etc. industries.
   c. Other Service Industries: recognizes achievements of teams in services industries such as financial services, healthcare, hospitality & leisure, legal, media & entertainment, real estate, retail, etc.
   d. Technology Industries: recognizes achievements of teams in technology industries such as computer software, computer services, computer hardware, internet/new media, and telecommunications.
   e. All Other Industries: recognizes achievements of teams in all industries not covered by the other Back-Office Customer Service Team of the Year categories.

69. Contact Center of the Year (Up to 100 Seats)
Recognizing call and contact centers that have no more than 100 seats. This category is split into five separate categories:
   a. Business Services Industries: recognizes achievements of contact centers in business services industries such as advertising, consulting, marketing, public relations, recruiting, etc.
   b. Financial Services Industries: recognizes the achievements of contact centers in the accounting, banking, financial services, insurance, etc. industries.
   c. Other Service Industries: recognizes achievements of contact centers in services industries such as financial services, healthcare, hospitality & leisure, legal, media & entertainment, real estate, retail, etc.
   d. Technology Industries: recognizes achievements of contact centers in technology industries such as computer software, computer services, computer hardware, internet/new media, and telecommunications.
   e. All Other Industries: recognizes achievements of contact centers in all industries not covered by the other Contact Center of the Year (Up to 100 Seats) categories.

70. Contact Center of the Year (Over 100 Seats)
Recognizing call and contact centers that have more than 100 seats. This category is split into five separate categories:
   a. Business Services Industries: recognizes achievements of contact centers in business services industries such as advertising, consulting, marketing, public relations, recruiting, etc.
   b. Financial Services Industries: recognizes the achievements of contact centers in the accounting, banking, financial services, insurance, etc. industries.
   c. Other Service Industries: recognizes achievements of contact centers in services industries such as financial services, healthcare, hospitality & leisure, legal, media & entertainment, real estate, retail, etc.
   d. Technology Industries: recognizes achievements of contact centers in technology industries such as computer software, computer services, computer hardware, internet/new media, and telecommunications.
   e. All Other Industries: recognizes achievements of contact centers in all industries not covered by the other Contact Center of the Year (Over 100 Seats) categories.

71. Customer Service Management Team of the Year
Recognizing the leadership teams of customer service organizations and contact centers for their achievements.

72. Customer Service Training Team of the Year
Recognizing teams that develop and deliver training to customer service organizations and contact center personnel.

CUSTOMER SERVICE & CONTACT CENTER ACHIEVEMENT CATEGORIES
Information required for entries in these categories include:
(a) An essay of up to 650 words describing the nominee’s accomplishments since July 1, 2013 in the area covered by the category.
(b) Optional (but highly recommended), a collection of supporting files and web addresses that you may upload to our server to support your entry and provide more background information to the judges. At the very least you should provide a link to the organization's website.

75. e-Commerce Customer Service Award
Recognizing customer service and contact center organizations for their innovative use of online technologies and social media to service the needs of customers.

76. Best Use of Technology in Customer Service
Recognizing customer service and contact center organizations for their use of technology that has directly improved customer service delivery, provided real business benefits, and shown system adoption across the entire customer service function.

77. Award for Innovation in Customer Service
Recognizing new ideas and developments within customer service that enabled organizations to meet the needs of their customers more effectively, leading to increased satisfaction and loyalty. This category is split into five separate categories:
   a. Computer Industries: recognizes achievement in the internet/new media, computer hardware, computer software, computer services, etc. industries.
   b. Financial Services Industries: recognizes achievement in the accounting, banking, financial services, insurance, etc. industries.
   c. Other Service Industries: recognizes achievement in all service industries except for financial services.
   d. Telecommunications Industries: recognize achievement in all telecommunications industries.
   e. All Other Industries: recognizes achievement in all industries that are not covered by one of the other Award for Innovation in Customer Service categories.

PCSAFCS logoCUSTOMER SERVICE DEPARTMENT CATEGORIES
In addition to the possibility of receiving a peer-reviewed honor in these categories, all nominated customer service departments that are chosen as Finalists also will be included in voting for the People's Choice Stevie Awards for Favorite Customer Service.  Online voting will open to the public worldwide in mid-January and will continue through early February.  We will provide Finalists in these categories with tools to help you encourage your fans, followers and customers to vote for you.  The nominee with the most votes in each category will receive a special crystal People's Choice Stevie Award.

The customer service department categories recognize everyone who works in customer service in your organization, regardless of their role or location. 
Information required for entries in these categories include:
(a) An essay of up to 650 words describing your customer service department’s accomplishments since July 1, 2013.
(b) Optional (but highly recommended), a collection of supporting files and web addresses that you may upload to our server to support your entry and provide more background information to the judges. At the very least you should provide a link to the organization's website.

80. Customer Service Department of the Year – Airlines, Distribution & Transportation
81. Customer Service Department of the Year – Computer Hardware
82. Customer Service Department of the Year – Computer Software. This category is split into two separate categories:
   a. At Organizations With Up to 100 Employees
   b. At Organizations With 100 or More Employees
83. Customer Service Department of the Year – Computer Services
84. Customer Service Department of the Year – Financial Services
85. Customer Service Department of the Year – Healthcare, Pharmaceuticals, and Related Industries
86. Customer Service Department of the Year – Leisure & Tourism
87. Customer Service Department of the Year – Public Services & Education
88. Customer Service Department of the Year – Retail
89. Customer Service Department of the Year – Telecommunications
90. Customer Service Department of the Year – All Other Industries

Need help with any of this? Contact us at help@stevieawards.com or +1 703-547-8389.

Final tip: Check out our free tipsheet on How to Win Customer Service Awards.

Apply Now

Tags: customer service awards, business awards, stevie awards, excellent customer service, contact center awards, customer service excellence

Customer Service Awards Winner Goes the Extra Mile for His Clients

Posted by Maggie Gallagher on Fri, Aug 08, 2014 @ 03:46 PM

Kashif Rasheed of dinCloud in Los Angeles, California, USA won a Gold Stevie® Award for Front-Line Customer Service Professional of the Year in the 2014 Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service, the top customer service awards and sales awards.

The 2015 Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service are now accepting entries.  Learn more how submit your entries here.

dinCLOUDKashif Rasheed is a high-energy, goal-driven individual who has created a dynamic services organization capable of consistently delivering high-quality services and creating customer loyalty at dinCloud, a cloud services provider.

Customers have dubbed dinCloud’s help desk, the “Kashif Care Program”. It has been said that Kashif combines the Boy Scouts’ Law—A Scout is trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, and reverent—with the unofficial USPS creed—“Neither snow, nor rain, nor heat, nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds”—with the availability of a 7-Eleven.

“Kashif happens to be one of the most dedicated members on our team,” said Shannon Severijn, IP Engineer at telecommunications carrier Airespring. “Kashif works tirelessly days, nights, and weekends. He is an outstanding troubleshooter and problem solver. He also happens to manage three different departments on two different sides of the world. Kashif is a great contributor and we are grateful to have him on our team.”

Helping Resolve Future Challenges

We asked Kashif what winning the Gold Stevie means to him. "We are honored to be recognized by one of the world's top customer service awards, as this further validates dinCloud's focus on providing customers with great value and service to make sure they can achieve a great deal more in their day-to-day business activities," Kashif told us.

We asked Kashif what he thought about the future. "dinCloud has a dynamic services organization, capable of consistently delivering high-quality services,” he explained. “We will remain proactive in our customer service approach and commitment to providing exceptional service and support for our customers."

Bringing Value to Customer Service

As operations manager for the company’s Global Service Desk (GSD), Kashif supervises and manages all help desk staff and projects. Additionally, as Implementation Manager, he designs and builds customers virtual environments, then works with each customer’s IT staff to implement the technology.

Kashif ensures quality execution throughout these service touch points, including implementation services (with superior white glove treatment during the onboarding process), training, education, and ongoing account management.

Kashif brings a great deal of value to dinCloud’s customer service division with his multi-faceted talent and unmatched dedication. His colleagues, partners, and customers have all achieved a great deal more in their day-to-day business activities because of his involvement and the personalized touch he provides. Kashif always goes the extra mile.

In 2013, for example, dinCloud was planning a rollout of its Hosted Virtual Desktops (HVDs) in Los Angeles.  At the same time, a client purchased new physical desktop systems. To address a shortage of resources, Kashif took technicians onsite, setting up hardware and software for 80 systems in just two days. Kashif also worked nights on the hosted desktop configurations.

Excellent Customer Retention

Customers receive a monthly report detailing how many help desk tickets have been opened or closed and which issues are still open or pending.

Kashif holds quarterly calls with each and every customer to review open tickets, to resolve outstanding issues, and, more importantly, to help the end user resolve future challenges on their own. Additionally, Kashif holds daily meetings with his team to discuss the status of any tickets generated that day.

When the company started a few years ago, its first call resolution ranged from 25-30%. Today, that number has grown to 80%, with almost all customer issues handled successfully on the first call. At the close of each ticket, customers are sent an optional survey. On average, dinCloud scores 4.3 out of 5, and has a near perfect customer retention rate. They credit much of this to Kashif and his team’s help desk operations and customer support program.

About Kashif Rasheed

As operations manager for the Global Service Desk (GSD) at dinCloud, Kashif Rasheed supervises and manages all help desk staff and projects (customer specific, managed services, etc.). This includes customer specific projects and those relevant to managed services (managing employees’ Exchange Server, Active Directory, additional application servers, etc.). He is also the Implementation Manager, responsible for designing and building a customer’s virtual environment, and working with the customer’s IT staff throughout implementation.

Kashif holds many certifications including: A+, N+, MCP, CLA, and CLE, and has a Master’s Degree in Computer Science. Over the past year, Kashif earned four additional certifications: ITIL (ITIL V3 Foundation), MCITP and MCSE (Microsoft), and VCP (VMware). In addition to his Gold Stevie® Award he also received the Continuous Support Award from En Pointe Technologies (a dinCloud reseller) at one of its National Sales Meetings.

About dinCloud

dinCloud is a cloud services provider that helps both commercial and public sector organizations rapidly migrate to the cloud through business provisioning, provided via its strong channel base of VARs and MSPs. Each customer’s dedicated private virtual data center provides hosted virtual desktops, hosted virtual servers, and cloud storage services, which are controlled by the customer through dinManage, dinCloud’s web-based management tool. dinCloud provides subscription-based services tailored to fit a range of business models resulting in reduced cost, enhanced security, control, and productivity.  For more information, go to www.dincloud.com.

Tags: customer service awards, business awards, excellent customer service, customer service excellence, dincloud

5 Tips for Winning Customer Service Awards: New Tipsheet Available

Posted by Michael Gallagher on Mon, Jan 06, 2014 @ 09:29 PM

Our "How to Win" tipsheets have proven to be popular and helpful to prospective nominees in our various Stevie Awards programs.  And we've just published a new one, entitled "5 Tips for Winning Customer Service Awards in the Stevie Awards." 

Download the Tipsheet

The publication is timely, as the final entry deadline for the 2014 Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service is January 14.

This brief tipsheet outliness the five best ways that customer service and contact center professionals can be honored in the Stevie Awards programs in 2014.  The Stevie Awards are considered the world's premier business awards competitions, and there are many customer service awards opportunities in our five programs, which are

  • The Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service
  • The American Business Awards
  • The International Business Awards
  • The Stevie Awards for Women in Business
  • The Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards

There are categories for customer service departments, teams, and individual performers, categories for various kinds of customer service achievements, and much more.  This tipsheet will help you to choose the categories and competitions in which you'll have the best chance of winning a Stevie Award.


Tags: customer service awards, business awards, stevie awards, excellent customer service, contact center awards, customer service excellence

Best Practices for World Class Customer Care, from a Stevie Awards Judge

Posted by Michael Gallagher on Tue, Dec 17, 2013 @ 01:33 PM

Sanjeev Garg, Global Head of Customer Care at the Commercial Vehicles Business Unit of TATA Motors in Mumbai, India, will chair the final judging committee for the individual performance categories in the customer service awards section of the 2014 Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service. Entries for the competition will be accepted through January 14 - get your entry kit here.

As someone in charge of a global customer care department, Sanjeev told us about what he believes are the top three best practices that should be implemented to make a customer service group world class. 

Sanjeev Garg“A world class customer care group should ensure a strong and profitable relationship with all of its customers,” Sanjeev told us.  To achieve this, Sanjeev recommended:

- Maximum usage of IT for all service offerings;

- Continuous engagement with customers to improve processes and products; and

- Benchmarking of practices with the best in the industry.

Sanjeev won a Gold Stevie Award for Customer Service Leader of the Year in the 2013 Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service. (See the full list of 2014 awards categories here.)  “The Stevie Award has come to me and my department as a testament to our commitment to the customer care industry,” Sanjeev commented. “It has motivated us to take innovative steps to further enhance the customer experience we offer and build long term relationships with our customers.”

Positive Feedback

The inspiration for Sanjeev and his team is very simple.  As he puts it: “Happy customers and their positive feedback on our actions.”  Sanjeev is very much aware that customer expectations are changing day by day. “It is mandatory now that we anticipate these changes and act promptly on them,” comments Sanjeev. “This poses a new challenge every day which can be overcome only if everybody in the organisation works towards it.”

Continues Sanjeev: “The process involves a lot of decision-making at the top management level and I love to challenge my own decisions. I encourage my team to express their views on my decisions, and that helps me reconsider my assumptions, contradict, or even refute my positions—and finally identify creative alternatives.”

New Beginning

Sanjeev loves his work.  “This daily process of self-challenging is enthralling,” he told us.   In his senior customer care role, he feels that he still has a lot to learn and to contribute to society, which can be achieved through this profession.

To sum it up, as Sanjeev told us on winning his customer service award: “This is not the end, this is not even the beginning of the end, this is just perhaps the end of a new beginning.”

About Sanjeev Garg
Sanjeev has been the Global Head of Customer Care for the Commercial Vehicle Business Unit of Tata Motors since December 2011. His customer care group is spread across four continents and supports more than 3 million Tata Motors vehicles through 2,300-plus service touch points and over 33,000 retail networks of spare parts.

Sanjeev started his career with Novartis and Godrej Soaps Ltd in 1990 .He then joined DCM Daewoo-Toyota. There he was instrumental in launching the Cielo, India’s first premium car, in 1994-95. He also created a dealer network for DCM-Daewoo Motors in India and went on to head the export vehicles business for that company. In 1996, Sanjeev joined General Motors Ltd and was instrumental in launching new initiatives for the customer satisfaction index and new Competitive Intelligence processes. His work at GM encompassed global geographies including South East Asia, the Middle East, Latin America, and the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC). Under his leadership, GM was ranked No. 1 in customer satisfaction in the Middle East, ahead of Toyota, Honda, and Nissan. He is also credited for the successful launch of the Chevrolet brand in India.  Sanjeev worked briefly for Force Motors, India as President-Sales, Service & Marketing, and was instrumental in launching Force One, the first SUV from Force Motors.

A Gold Medalist from the College of Agriculture Engineering in Jabalpur, Sanjeev went on to complete an MBA degree from the Indian Institute of Management in Ahmedabad. Based in Mumbai, India, Sanjeev is married and has one son. He has a strong interest in sports, especially Formula 1, tennis, and golf.  He loves travelling, reading, and understanding different cultures.

About TATA Motors Ltd
Tata Motors is India's largest automobile company, with consolidated revenues of Rs. 1, 88,818 crores ($34.7 billion) in 2012-13. Through subsidiaries and associate companies, Tata Motors has operations in the UK, South Korea, Thailand, South Africa, and Indonesia. Among them is Jaguar Land Rover, the business comprising the two iconic British brands. It also has an industrial joint venture with Fiat in India. With over 8 million Tata vehicles plying the roads in India, Tata Motors is the country's market leader in commercial vehicles and among the top in passenger vehicles. It is also the world's fifth largest truck manufacturer and fourth largest bus manufacturer. Tata cars, buses, and trucks are marketed in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, South Asia, South East Asia, South America, the CIS, and Russia.

Tags: customer service awards, business awards, stevie awards, excellent customer service, contact center awards, customer service excellence, tata motors

Portrait of a Stevie Award-winning Customer Service Professional: Joe Greco of HomeServe USA Corp

Posted by Michael Gallagher on Mon, Nov 04, 2013 @ 04:29 PM

HomeServe USA’s Joe Greco won the Gold Stevie Award for Front-Line Customer Service Professional of the Year in the customer service awards categories of the 2013 Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service, the world's top honors for sales, business development, contact center, and customer service professionals.  The entry deadline for the 2014 edition of the awards is November 13 - get your entry kit here.

Joe Greco joined the HomeServe USA family in November 2011 as one of the company’s 150 proficient inbound sales and service agents. He made an instant impact on the department.

Joe GrecoFrom his very first month on the phones, it was clear Joe was going to do great things in the world of sales and customer service as he exceeded his sales goal at 169% to target, hit 173% of his upgrade goal, and hit 148% of his continuous conversion goal—all while maintaining an average quality rating of 99.31% on screened calls against an extensive compliance and customer service screening criteria. Not bad for the new kid on the block!

Impressive Performance

His impressive performance didn’t stop there. Joe quickly became one of HomeServe USA’s elite sales and service agents and averaged the following performance against his key performance indicators over the last year:

• 124% to new sales goal: Joe has welcomed over 1,050 new service plan holders to HomeServe USA;

• 204% to upgrade goal: Joe has achieved over 1,150 cross sales worth over $115,000 of revenue to the business;

• 97.1% quality rating across all calls screened versus a 95% goal;

• 96.3% adherence to time scheduled on phone versus a 93% goal.

Setting Records

Joe is a model employee and has achieved the impressive performance levels above with a perfect attendance record.  He continues to set the benchmark of what an excellent customer service and sales executive looks like. As a result, Joe has been recognized twice in the past year as the Inbound Department Employee of the Month, a feat that no other HomeServe USA agent has ever achieved in a 12-month period.

Customer Commendations

Joe’s most impressive achievements, however, lie away from the statistics. He has received an unprecedented seven customer commendations in the past year from delighted customers who have gone out of their way to pass on their feedback to the HomeServe USA supervisors, thanks to the high standards of best customer service Joe provides when handling inbound sales and service calls. All of these commendations mentioned Joe’s professionalism, patience, and extensive knowledge together with his ability to ensure that HomeServe USA customers gained a true understanding of the products and services they were using or about to purchase.

A Mentor and Coach

Joe is equally supportive, considerate, and respectful amongst his peers, and he is always willing to help. He is regularly used as a mentor and coach by the leadership team for incentive programs to benefit both new and existing staff.  His humility and expertise are perfectly balanced to complement this learning method.

The management at HomeServe makes every effort to deliver a world-class customer service and are incredibly proud of all the company’s sales and service agents, but when they look at Joe and what he has achieved in his career at HomeServe, they know they have a true industry-leading front-line customer service professional.

A Milestone for HomeServe USA

2013 is HomeServe USA’s 10th anniversary serving customers. This milestone recognizes when the company signed with its first US partner, which opened the door for the company to begin enrollments and ultimately to serve customers in the United States. The company’s parent, HomeServe plc, has been around for 20 years, and was founded in the UK in 1993.

About Joe Greco
Joe is a true customer service professional with over 30 years experience in sales and customer service, including 10 years in automobile sales and 20 years in telemarketing for church directories. Since joining HomeServe USA in 2011, Joe has become an integral part of the team and is very popular and respected by his peers. Joe enjoys the challenge of building rapport with callers and striving to exceed their expectations, whether resolving an issue they have or selling them a new product or service.

About HomeServe USA
HomeServe USA Corp (HomeServe) is an independent provider of home emergency repair service plans. For over a decade, the company has protected homeowners against the expense and inconvenience of water, sewer, electrical, HVAC, and other home emergencies by providing affordable coverage and quality service. HomeServe serves over 1.4 million homeowners in the US and Canada and dedicates itself to being a customer-focused company providing best-in-class emergency repair plans through leading utility partners and directly to consumers. For more information about HomeServe, please go to www.homeserveusa.com, follow us on www.twitter.com/homeserveusa, and like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/homeserveusa.

Tags: customer service awards, business awards, stevie awards, excellent customer service, contact center awards, customer service excellence

Portrait of a Stevie Award-winning Customer Service Professional: Edgar Perez of Delta Air Lines

Posted by Michelle Rutkowski on Mon, Oct 07, 2013 @ 03:30 PM

Edgar Perez is an Atlanta Elite Sales and Service Assist Specialist for Delta Air Lines Inc., of Atlanta, Georgia, USA.  Edgar was awarded the Gold Stevie Award for Front-Line Customer Service Professional of the Year in the customer service awards categories of the 2013 Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service, the world's top honors for customer service, contact center, and sales professionals. The early-bird entry deadline (with discounted fees) for the 2014 edition of the awards is this Wednesday, October 9. Get your entry kit today.

Edgar Perez of Delta Airlines Stevie Award winnerEdgar Perez is one of those employees who embraces change and the importance of customer service every day. He always remains positive and ready for a challenge, and never loses his focus on the customer.

Internal Support

Edgar supports many internal departments, assisting with booking, ticketing, research, and service-recovery decisions for Delta customers. He’s received the highest Delta honor, the “Chairman’s Club” award, which is given by his peers, largely because he is so supportive of those around him. One of Edgar’s supervisors commented: “Edgar exudes such positive enthusiasm that you can feel the electricity when he’s in the room.”

Customer Comments

Edgar has received numerous customer compliments and has turned many customers’ perspectives around. One customer wrote: “Edgar, you renewed my confidence in my favorite airline and gave me trust that you are really taking this gloried airline back up where she belongs.” Another customer wrote, “What an asset to the company. Thank you for hiring Edgar—his dedication to Delta and its customers is commendable.”

But none of these compliments adequately capture the passion Edgar has for Delta and for its customers. The following touching story is a better example:

Helping a Special Family Member

Recently, a family with two small children and their dog Chechito was relocating from Honduras to Missouri. They all checked in with Chechito in a hard-sided pet carrier, but the container wouldn’t fit under any seat. Because of the summer heat, the dog could not travel in the cargo hold, and the family was not able to postpone the trip, so they were forced to leave Chechito behind with a family friend in Honduras. The plane departed with Chechito still in his pet carrier on the tarmac and distressed parents and crying children staring out the airplane window knowing they might never see their special family member again.

Edgar made strenuous efforts to resolve the issue, working with the family in Missouri and the friend who had kept Chechito in Honduras. He worked with other divisions of Delta to have the health certificates returned to Honduras so the dog could be reunited with its family.

Finally, to make sure that everything went smoothly, Edgar decided to personally travel to Honduras and bring the dog back with him to the U.S. It took him 72 hours and a 4,000-mile journey to do so, but ultimately he reunited Chechito with his family.

Making A Difference

This is just one story of many where Edgar has made the difference for Delta’s customers. Allison Ausband, VP-Reservation Sales and Customer Care, commented: “Edgar, there are unsung heroes, and you certainly are one of them. What you did for this family was so representative of who you are as a person and so representative of the best we see in Delta employees. I can’t thank you enough for having this customer’s back and going way above the call of duty.”

Edgar truly pours his heart and soul into his work, which echoes through the words of thanks from his many satisfied customers.

About Edgar Perez:
Edgar Perez is currently a member of Delta’s Elite Sales and Service Assist desk, providing support to many internal departments and assisting with booking, ticketing, research, and service-recovery decisions in support of Delta’s external and internal customers. He joined Delta in February 1994 as a General Sales Agent and has held positions in International Sales and International Customer Service, and on the Customer Service Coordinator Desk and Elite/Executive Desk. Along the way, Edgar’s expertise and knowledge of processes and policies, together with his exceptional service, have made him a highly sought-after resource, especially by Delta’s Board of Directors and executive team.

About Delta
Delta Air Lines serves more than 160 million customers each year. Delta was named by Fortune magazine as the most admired airline worldwide in its 2013 World's Most Admired Companies airline-industry list, topping the list for the second time in three years. With an industry-leading global network, Delta and the Delta Connection carriers offer service to 317 destinations in 57 countries on six continents. Headquartered in Atlanta, Delta employs nearly 80,000 employees worldwide and operates a mainline fleet of more than 700 aircraft. The airline is a founding member of the SkyTeam global alliance and participates in the industry's leading trans-Atlantic joint venture with Air France-KLM and Alitalia. Including its worldwide alliance partners, Delta offers customers more than 15,000 daily flights, with hubs in Amsterdam, Atlanta, Cincinnati, Detroit, Minneapolis-St. Paul, New York-LaGuardia, New York-JFK, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Salt Lake City and Tokyo-Narita. Delta is investing more than $3 billion in airport facilities and global products, services and technology to enhance the customer experience in the air and on the ground. Additional information is available on delta.com, Twitter @Delta, Google.com/+Delta and Facebook.com/delta


Tags: customer service awards, business awards, stevie awards, sales awards, excellent customer service, contact center awards, customer service excellence

Beyond-Satisfaction Customer Care: A Stevie Award Winner Shows How It’s Done

Posted by Michelle Rutkowski on Thu, Sep 26, 2013 @ 11:30 AM

Earlier this year, Wolper Information Services took the Gold Stevie Award for Front-Line Customer Service Team of the Year in the customer service awards categories at the seventh annual Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service(The 2014 edition is now accepting entries - get your entry kit today.) In 2012, Wolper received the Bronze Stevie Award in the same category. Here we look at how the company has maintained its high levels of success.

 Susan Wolper of Wolper Information ServicesWolper Information Services functions as the intermediary between publishers and content aggregators and its mutual corporate and institutional customers. As those customers increasingly transition their information resources from print to electronic, Wolper’s customer service team is on the front lines dealing with the realities of a myriad of new and complicated formats, including digital and mobile.

  “Our goal is to exceed customer expectations every day and we do this by supporting our customer-facing staff and empowering them with regular training and constant communication,” said Susan Wolper, President and CEO of Wolper Information Services.  “We are honored to be recognized by the Stevie Awards for our best-in-class Front-Line Customer Service Team.”

Rising to Meet Challenges

The Wolper Front-Line Customer Service Team has to be on the leading edge in order to:

 - understand new requirements;

- help Wolper update its internal systems to accommodate new realities; and

- internalize every detail of the new workflows (licensing instead of purchasing, managing access issues as opposed to claiming missed issues).

The team has risen to these steep challenges and has made Wolper even more relevant to the industry and a better adviser to its customers.

Company-wide Commitment

Customer service is in the Wolper DNA. It’s a company-wide commitment, not the purview of a single department. Lots of vendors say that they provide great customer service, but Wolper has independent, third-party verification that proves it. The company maintains a Dun & Bradstreet Open Ratings PPE score of 97-98 out of 100, based on customers’ satisfaction in dealing with Wolper staff, their attitude, courtesy, and professionalism.

Seamless Transitioning

As Corporate America increasingly implements enterprise-wide e-procurement systems to increase efficiency and to capture and control spending, Wolper’s systems have to “shake hands” with the gamut of e-procurement platforms its customers are using. The company’s versatility applies to software as well as the one-on-one, personal support its customer service team provides. The company employs similar initiatives (in-house training, refined internal processes) for all of its accounts with high integration needs and consequently has developed a swift, seamless transitioning process and ongoing support for those customers.

Additionally, because of budget and staffing pressures everywhere in the transaction channel, Wolper’s customer service department increasingly absorbs workload overflow from both the publisher and customer sides of its business.

Commitment to Customer Care

Veronica Malitzki, Customer Service and Accounts Manager, is the Front-Line Customer Service team leader.  With more than 19 years of experience in customer service at Wolper, Veronica oversees all aspects of customer interactions and management of the Customer Service department. She also oversees Wolper’s trade show and conference schedule and meets with both customers and prospects at shows and on-site for business review meetings.

While Wolper’s customer service representatives use highly technical systems, they engage people in a “high touch” way, remembering their contacts by first name, and in many cases knowing their account history (if not their children’s names or favorite sports teams) by heart.

At Wolper, there’s never an auto-attendant. There are no one-size-fits-all solutions. There is always a commitment to personalized, beyond-satisfaction customer care.

About Susan Wolper:

Susan Wolper, President and CEO of Wolper Information Services, has led the company for more than two decades, during its greatest period of growth and success. A former corporate attorney specializing in real estate, Susan earned a Juris Doctorate from Case Western Reserve School of Law after graduating Cum Laude with honors from the University of Rochester.  Susan serves on the Executive Committee of The Association of Subscription Agents & Intermediaries and the Advisory Board for the Easton Area Neighborhood Center. In 2011, Susan was honored by the Eastern Pennsylvania Business Journal with its Executive Spotlight Award, and in 2013 she was named a “Champion of Diversity” by DiversityBusiness.com and a “Woman of Influence” by Lehigh Valley Business.

About Wolper Information Services:

For more than 35 years, Wolper has been a one-stop information management resource.  The company provides selection, service, and savings to academic, research, medical, corporate, government, public, and consortia customers.  Wolper’s High Tech, High Touch® approach delivers the perfect balance of next-generation technology and time-proven, personalized service.  Besides serials, Wolper also handles books and e-books, print and electronic, domestic and foreign, site licenses, e-resource access, and management (ERM) and other information solutions.  Recently, Wolper was named a Bronze Winner in the 2012 Best in Biz Awards for the Most Customer-Friendly Company of the Year, following multiple honors in 2011-12, from inclusion in the EContent 100 list of “companies that matter most in the digital content industry” to finalist for KMWorld magazine’s KM (Knowledge Management) Promise Award. Learn more at www.wolper.com.

Tags: customer service awards, business awards, stevie awards, sales awards, excellent customer service, contact center awards, customer service excellence

3 Customer Service Awards Categories in The 2012 IBAs

Posted by Liz Dean on Thu, Apr 19, 2012 @ 09:51 AM

There are three customer service awards categories in The 2012 International Business Awards, the world's premier business awards competition, to help you showcase your organization's good customer service. (The entry deadline for the 2012 IBAs is 16 May. All organizations and individuals worldwide may submit nominations, request your entry kit here.)

Our customer service award categories include: International Business Awards

Information to be submitted online for entries in these categories include:

  • An essay of up to 500 words describing the nominee's accomplishments since January 1 2011,
  • A biography of the nominee or the leader of the nominated department or team of up to 100 words, and
  • Optional (but highly recommended), a collection of supporting files and web addresses that you may upload to our server to support your entry and provide more background information to the judges.

The 8th Annual International Business Awards were presented in October 2011 in Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates. 2011 honorees for excellent customer service included:  

2012 honorees will be celebrated at the 9th annual awards banquet on Monday, 15 October in Seoul, South Korea.

How will you highlight your organization's best customer service in the 2012 IBAs?

Tags: best customer service, customer service awards, business awards, International business awards, good customer service, excellent customer service, customer service award

4 Tips for Winning Customer Service Awards in The 2012 ABAs

Posted by Liz Dean on Fri, Apr 13, 2012 @ 11:16 AM

The entry deadline for The 10th Annual American Business Awards, the premier business awards program in the U.S.A., is April 25, 2012, and we want to help you highlight your organization's good customer service. If you haven't received an entry kit yet, you can request your entry kit here.

To make the most out of your customer service awards entries, we suggest the following four tips:

1. Review the business awards categories.
There are three customer service award categories:

  1. Customer Service Department of the YearThe American Business Awards
  2. Customer Service Team of the Year
  3. Customer Service Executive of the Year

2. Review the entry submission criteria.
Showcase your organization's excellent customer service by including all of the required information in your submissions. You can review all entry requirements here.

3. Watch our video, How to Enter The 2012 American Business Awards.
Get step-by-step instruction on how to submit your 2012 entries.

4. Contact us!
We are happy to answer any last minute questions you may have. Contact us at help@stevieawards.com or call us at + 1 703 547 8389 and we'll help direct you to categories that are right for your organization.

How will you recognizes your organization's best customer service practices in the 2012 ABAs?

Tags: best customer service, customer service awards, business awards, American business awards, good customer service, excellent customer service, customer service award

3 Tips on How to Attract and Retain Customers, From a Stevie Awards Judge

Posted by Liz Dean on Fri, Apr 06, 2012 @ 09:05 AM

Jerry Weinberger, Senior Director of Customer Service and Retention at Webs, Inc., is Chair of the final judging committee for the support awards categories of The 2012 American Business Awards, the premier business awards program in the U.S.A.(The final entry deadline for 2012 ABAs is April 25; request your entry kit today.) Here Jerry shares three ways businesses can attract and retain new customers through good customer service.

What are your top 3 tips to small businesses and entrepreneurs on how to attract and retain new customers through excellent customer serviceJerry Weinberger

  1. Treat customers right. 
    Communicate with customers the way you would with a friend. Use conversational language in both verbal and written communications with them. Customers aren’t impressed by “corporate speak” anymore, and they don’t understand half of it anyway. Just tell it like it is, and have fun with your communication when you can. Customers LOVE it.
  2. Listen to your customers, constantly. 
    Customers will always tell you what they want. If you decide what the customers want without talking to them, you’ll be wrong.
  3. Hire the personality and values, not the skills. 
    Don’t hire anyone for your Customer Center who doesn’t genuinely care about taking care of customers, or who finds it difficult to smile. Empathy, passion, understanding … call it what you will, it’s either there or it isn’t. You can teach someone about procedures, guidelines, workflows, systems, or about a new product, but you can’t teach someone how to care.

What item of news recently caught your eye and why? 
I came across two different articles in the past month that highlighted the fact that customer satisfaction isn’t the right metric to measure anymore. I’ve always had the drive for high customer satisfaction levels running through my veins, so I was more than a bit shocked to see those words in print. According to these articles, the focus should instead be on loyalty, such as in the Net Promoter Score.  Definitely something to think about!

Do you have a favorite app or blog?
MakeUseOf.  It’s a constant learning experience for me.

If you could choose another profession, what would it be?
Sports psychologist.

What quality or qualities do you most value in your business associates? 
Integrity, honesty, and being passionate about customers.

As someone at the top of your profession, what keeps you inspired or makes you hit the ground running in the morning? 
The opportunity to exceed someone’s expectations each and every day. 

About American Business Awards Support Award Categories:
The ABA support categories highlight contributions made by support staffers through recognition awards. These categories recognize all administrative support including secretary of the year, production support, security, maintenance, and research members.

About Jerry Weinberger:
Jerry Weinberger joined Webs in 2010 and is currently responsible for Customer Service/Support and Retention for their 50 million customers. For over 20 years, Jerry has been responsible for leading Customer Care organizations. He has run single or multi-site Care operations for such powerhouse companies as Federal Express, MCI, and Fleet Bank. During his tenure with those companies, his leadership resulted in sustained service levels and customer satisfaction ratings that were among the best in the industry. Since joining Webs, Jerry’s Customer Support team has won two Stevie® Awards: one for Support Team of the Year in The 2011 American Business Awards, and the second for Customer Service Management Team of the Year in the 2012 Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service.
 
About Webs, Inc.:
Webs is the world’s most popular do-it-yourself solution to creating a free website, having served over 40 million users. Webs enables small businesses and entrepreneurs to easily make a great-looking website and project a professional image. The Webs family of products--including Webs, ContactMe, and Pagemodo--provides small businesses with simple and cost-effective ways to launch and grow their companies across web, social, and mobile platforms. Founded in 2001 by the Mokhtarzada brothers, Webs is funded by Novak Biddle Venture Partners and Columbia Capital. For more information, visit www.webs.com.

Tags: support awards, business awards, American business awards, stevie awards, Inc., stevie awards for sales and customer service, good customer service, excellent customer service, Jerry Weinberger, Webs, recognition awards, customer service management team of the year, secretary of the year, support team of the year