Customer Service Awards Blog

As the deadline for The Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service approaches on November 18, we've created 9 simple tips to help you submit entries that are worthy of receiving a Stevie Award for Sales & Customer Service:

1. Request an Entry Kit
The entry kit contains everything you need to know to be able to prepare and submit your entries.  Click here to request yours.

2. Watch our How to Enter the 2012 Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service Video
Our brief video gives an overview of the world's premier customer service awards and sales awards, with a step-by-step guide to how to select categories, prepare entries, and submit them.

 

3. Determine Who or What You Want to Nominate, and in Which Categories
Decide which individuals or teams in your sales organization that you will nominate, then select the most appropriate categories for those entries. 

4. Prepare Your Entries
Take the time to tailor each entry for each category you apply for.

Stevie-winning entries are:

a. Well-written.  They are terse and succinct.  Their tone is modest, even when describing the most impressive accomplishments.
b. Focused on a few accomplishments.  Describe in detail just a few accomplishments, instead of listing many accomplishments in brief.

Stevie-winning entries are not:

a. Fluffy and hyperbolic.  Avoid flowery language and overblown claims.  The judges tend to deduct points for immodesty.

Want to read entries that judges have scored highly in the past? The full-text of most Stevie Award-winning entries are published on the web site. Start by looking through the 2011 winners.

5. Submit Your Entries By The Entry Deadline
The final entry deadline for The Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service will be November 18, 2011.  Late entries will be accepted through January 10, 2012 with payment of a $35 late fee per entry. When you're ready to enter, begin here...

6. Subscribe to the Free Stevie Awards Email Newsletter
The weekly email newsletter is the best way to stay informed about entry deadline extensions, new categories, and other announcements from the organizers of The Stevie Awards.  We have a very strict privacy policy, so we will not share your email address with anyone else for any reason.  Click here to learn more.

7. Get Social with The Stevies
Connect with The Stevie Awards on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube for latest announcements, blog postings, photos, and videos regarding our awards programs.

8. Participate in the Judging Process
Apply to be a preliminary-round judge.  As a judge you will be able to see the entries submitted by many companies around the world, and you will develop a better sense of the types of entries that judges score highly.  (You will not be allowed to judge entries in categories in which you have submitted entries, however.)  Click here to complete the application form.

If your application is accepted you will be assigned categories based on your function and experience.  As a preliminary-round judge you will be able to judge as few or as many nominations as you like, at your convenience, over the Internet in November-January.

9. Contact The Stevie Awards
Contact us with your questions about the most appropriate categories, entry fees, and so on.  Our phone number is +1 703-547-8389, and our email address is help@stevieawards.com. Note, the first question we’ll ask you is: what do you and your organization want to be recognized for?

What has helped you write successful entries for The 2012 Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service?

Meritus Payment Solutions of Santa Ana, California was named a finalist in the highly competitive New Company of the Year category in The 2011 American Business Awards. (Entries for The 2012 American Business Awards are now being accepted- get your entry kit here.  And speaking of customer service, November 18 is the final entry deadline for the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service.)

Here we take a look at how this company is helping small-to-midsized businesses maximize their potential.

If small business is the engine to economic growth, then Meritus Payment Solutions is the conductor.  In 2009, Meritus Payment Solutions became operational and was founded on the promise that small-to-mid-sized companies would have a partner that understood their business and their payment-processing needs. 

Smaller companies are often unaware how much the methods they use for accepting payments can affect their productivity and profitability.  As a full-service payment processor, Meritus puts its promise to see business through the eyes of its clients into action by offering the following customized solutions:

1. Process Any Payment From Anywhere

Utilizing proprietary technology, Payment XP allows merchants to process all payments from anywhere in the world on any device (computer, Blackberry, etc.) with Internet access.  Backed by banks such as Wells Fargo©, Royal Bank of Scotland©, and Harris Bank®, Meritus allows businesses to accept all payments including credit card, gift card, check, mobile, and more.  With technology pushing business into new territories, Meritus has created a product that allows companies to conduct business wherever it takes them.  Internet-based payment gateway Payment XP gives merchants the ultimate flexibility for growth.

2. Utilize A Single-Source Solution for Measuring Business Productivity

Meritus allows for profit, productivity, and protection within a single point of entry. On-demand reporting gives merchants visionary insight into their business activity and helps them to identify points for strategic growth.  Robust and merchant-defined fraud protection allows merchants to find the balance between protection and profit. Meritus is a single-source solution for business productivity with Innovative features such as the ability to process Automated Clearing House (ACH) transactions, the ability to proactively manage chargeback activity, and the ability to create electronic invoices.

Being able to conduct business within one platform is invaluable.  Not only do businesses have one place to pinpoint success, loss, and potential, but Meritus is strategically positioned to prove its greatest value proposition as a true business partner.  The Meritus First Team supports this initiative.  

3. Take the Guesswork out of Processing Trends

The Meritus First Team specializes in supporting clients beyond what merchants have come to expect from typical Merchant Services providers.  The First Team delves into the merchant’s business flow to maximize merchant profits while keeping them safely within processing guidelines.  With highly refined business analytics tools, Meritus First Team takes the guesswork out of a merchant’s processing trends.

With the consultative client services of the Meritus First Team and the development of proprietary solutions, Meritus empowers businesses to maximize their potential.  The First Team provides answers to merchant questions regarding chargeback ratios, fraud prevention, risk analysis, and trends within their specific industry. The First Team’s goal is to reach out to merchants and provide those answers before they ask.

Maximizing Its Own Potential

Today, Meritus is experiencing record growth.  From its first operational day in 2009, Meritus has experienced rapid growth with a 150x increase in processing volume and more than 35x increase in customer base. In 2010, processing volume [repeat] almost tripled from the end of 2009 and the Southern California headquarters doubled their employee headcount.  2011 looks to be equally, if not more promising with processing volume already up more than 20% in the first quarter.

“We never settle here at Meritus. This attitude pushes us to continue providing pioneering products and unparalleled customer service unknown in the payments industry,” says Alan Kleinman, Principal of Meritus Payment Solutions. “We are grateful for our success and look forward to providing solutions for our merchants’ long-term success and growth.”

Meritus is looking towards the future by expanding into new sales channels and increasing their number of clients.  But as Meritus grows it stays true to its client-first and technology-driven roots.  Meritus has proven it is a company that can be judged on its own merit.  Meritus is ready to shape the global payment processing industry.

Leadership

Meritus Payment Solutions is led by example.  The infectious dedication and  enthusiasm of partners Alan Kleinman and Hiep Tran motivate their team to stay grounded in diligence while keeping future opportunities in mind.  

With ISO experience—Alan at National Merchant Center and Hiep at Transfirst Merchant Services—both Alan and Hiep were pivotal in growing their respective businesses into billion-dollar empires.  Now, in their entrepreneurial venture together, they have positioned Meritus Payment Solutions to evolve with the industry, grow internationally, and continue to create innovative solutions with the merchant in mind.  

Alan Kleinman, Principal

Before starting Meritus Payment Solutions with Hiep Tran in 2009, Alan Kleinman was COO of National Merchant Center, a full service ISO. During his tenure, the company’s annual processing volume increased from $150MM to over $1 billion. Prior to joining National Merchant Center, Alan was a venture capitalist at Pacific Venture Group, a $210 million healthcare venture fund, and was involved in the investment and management of a number of successful companies including Symbion, Visicu, Phaseforward, Zonelabs, Vivant Medical, LifeMasters, and Long Term Care Group. Before that, Alan was an analyst at Gateway Partners, a merchant bank that focused on consolidating niche industries.

Hiep Tran, AAP, Principal

Hiep Tran was the CEO/Founder of Primus Payment Solutions, Inc., a merchant services sales office that focused on card-not-present merchants. Prior to Primus, Hiep was Vice President of Credit, Risk, & Operations for National Merchant Center (NMC). At NMC, he designed and implemented NMC’s risk management system for domestic and offshore merchant processing. Before that, Hiep was Director of Credit, Risk Management, and ACH Compliance for TransFirst Merchant Services, where he led their risk management, Credit, Collections, and ACH Compliance teams. Hiep received his AAP (Accredited ACH Professional) certification from NACHA in 2006.

About Meritus Payment Solutions

Meritus Payment Solutions is the innovative leader in advanced global transaction processing. Meritus provides a breadth of payment and transaction processing solutions that include mobile, credit and debit cards, gift and loyalty cards, Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT), Automated Clearing House (ACH), Check 21, and more. Built on a foundation of dedication, initiative, and collaboration, Meritus strives to shape the payment processing industry. For more information go to www.merituspayment.com.

 

How has automation created better customer service for your clients?

We've published a 13 minute video called How to Enter the 2012 Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service.

Do you provide excellent customer service?  The video covers the steps you should follow if you're at all interested in winning the top customer service award on the planet.

Entries are now being accepted for the 6th annual Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service.  You'll find the entry kit online, here.

If you have questions about how to submit nominations after watching the video, write to us at help@stevieawards.com.  We're here for you!

Confero, Inc., of Cary, North Carolina, USA was named Customer Service or Call Center Consulting Practice of the Year in the 2011 Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service. Entries for the 2012 awards are now being accepted.

Confero, Inc. is a national customer experience measurement firm that helps clients provide a service to their customers. Operating throughout the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom, the firm offers customer service mystery shopping evaluations, customer brand support services, customer satisfaction research, and employee incentive and recognition programs.  Here we look at how they successfully beat the competition and handled the tough conditions of 2009-10.

Never Say No

Confero has a policy of never saying “no” to its clients. People have requested some very short deadlines with seemingly impossible logistics, but Confero knew that in each case the client had a need that absolutely had to be addressed.

Turn-on-a-Dime Projects

Confero is known for its unusually fast, turn-on-a-dime projects. Most competitor companies want 30 to 60 days notice, a substantial setup fee, and multiple meetings in order to accept a project. The Confero team, however, can place a finished project in the field in 30 days or less—sometimes in only 3 to 4 days—which is quite an accomplishment in the industry. 

Because of the economic climate, client companies often would not receive funding for projects until the last minute, but these projects were nonetheless important. By using its ability to get a project into the field quickly, Confero was able to really help these clients.

8,000 Locations in 8 Weeks

With only 10 days’ notice, the Confero team was able to put a year-end program for 8,000 visits into the field last December, managing mystery shop visits to 8,000 locations in eight weeks, with pre-shipped and prepared on-the-spot prizes, which is completely unheard of in the industry. To give more of an idea of the scope of this project, it was carried out across the United States in the middle of one of the worst winters on record.

Census Project Completed in 3 Weeks

In February, just before the start of the U.S. Census, the government contracted with an agency to market the census to underrepresented sections of the population. This agency contacted Confero with just three weeks’ notice to go into independent Hispanic- and Asian-American-owned-and-operated grocery stores to educate the owners about the census and to place marketing materials in the stores to encourage their customers’ census participation. The agency came to Confero after using two other providers who had not been able to complete the project. Confero finished the project for them in the three weeks.

Making the Client Look Good

Confero aims to make its clients look good by ensuring access to the resources needed to scale up or down, depending on the project. Confero’s “Don’t Say No” attitude asks: If we do this project, how exactly can we accomplish it?

Can-do Thinking

The Confero team’s can-do thinking considers business on the table, appreciates that the client needs its services, and then figures out a way to make the project happen. Instead of saying, “Here’s a client with a project need, so can we fit it into the bucket of what we do?” Confero says: “Here’s a client with a project need, and if it’s anywhere near the bucket of what we do, we’ll figure out how to get it done.”

On the Confero team’s winning a Stevie Award earlier this year, the company’s president Elaine Buxton commented: “This award is particularly meaningful to Confero’s customer service team because it recognizes the team’s delivery of quality solutions in 2010, including many that involved quick turnaround times and tough requirements.”

About Elaine Buxton

Confero’s president Elaine Buxton earned a B.S. from UNC-Chapel Hill and an MBA from Meredith College, which named her one of its top 100 graduates. She has been recognized among the top 25 businesswomen by Triangle Business Journal, named as a Woman Extraordinaire honoree, and honored by Enterprising Women magazine.  Elaine and the Confero team ranked on Inc. Magazine’s Inc. 5000 list and at No. 51 on the Top 100 North Carolina Small Businesses list. Elaine is a founding member and immediate past president of the Mystery Shopping Providers Association and serves on the Better Business Bureau of Eastern North Carolina board of directors.

About Confero, Inc.

Confero, Inc. is a national customer experience measurement firm dedicated to helping clients provide outstanding service to their customers. The firm offers customer service mystery shopping evaluations, customer brand support services, customer satisfaction research, and employee incentive and recognition programs. For more information, call (800) 326-3880 or visit http://www.conferoinc.com.

We've been trumpeting the more than 200 professionals worldwide who participated in judging of The 2011 (8th Annual) International Business Awards, and today we cite the contributions of those who judged the customer service awards categories.

The IBAs, if you're not familiar with them, are the world's top honors for business professionals, with categories that recognize achievement in every facet of the workplace.  All organizations worldwide may submit entries.  This year's IBA honorees hail from more than 40 nations.  Honorees were announced last month, and will be celebrated on October 11 during gala ceremonies in Abu Dhabi, UAE. 

The final judging committee for the customer service categories, whose average scores determined this year's honorees, included

Michaela Aguilar, ICT Program Leader, Parramatta City Council, Parammata, NSW Australia
Don Batting, Senior Consultant, Enterprise Support Services, Ernst & Young, New York, NY USA
Clare Buchanan, Head of Customer Service USA, DHL Express, Tempe, AZ USA
Karen McFadzen, VP Technical Services, APAC, Japan & Greater China, Cisco Systems, Chatswood, NSW Australia
Charles (Chick) Olsson, BEc, Acc, MAICD, Managing Director, Four Season Company Pty Ltd, Sydney, NSW Australia
Melanie Pope, Director, Australian Paramedic Support Foundation, Aspley, Australia
Stormy Simon, Senior Vice President, Customer Experience, Overstock.com, Salt Lake City, UT USA
Jan Willem Strijker, Owner/Director, Brantas International Technology Ltd, Auckland, New Zealand
Julie Toma, President, Advenio Group, East Killara, NSW Australia

The committee was chaired and formed by Susan Savage, General Manager, MICROS Fidelio Australia, South Turramurra, Australia

The categories Sue and her committee judged included

• Customer Service Department of the Year
• Customer Service Team of the Year
• Customer Service Executive of the Year

The honorees they chose in these categories include Etisalat, Mafraq Hospital/Abu Dhabi, and Haktan Yasar Kiliç of Turk Telekom.  See the full list of honorees here.

The next opportunity for customer service and call center professionals to be honored in a Stevie Awards competition is in the 6th annual Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service, which is now accepting entries.  These awards feature more than 90 categories focused exclusively on customer service, call center, and sales achievements.

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With the final entry deadline for The 2011 American Business Awards coming up on April 27, we asked Art Gairo, Senior Vice President for Broadview Networks, for his top tips about what makes for great customer service.  Art will chair and form the final judging committee for the customer service awards categories of the 2011 ABAs.

What are your top 3 tips on how to be successful in customer service?

1. Listen to your customers’ feedback and use their suggestions to improve—the customer does indeed know what’s best!
2. A company is only as good as its employees, so it’s important to imbue your employees with a sense of purpose and make sure that they both understand and believe in their mission. Having talented and engaged employees can make all the difference in providing excellent customer service. 
3. Never be satisfied in the pursuit of customer service objectives—go over and above what’s required. Whether it’s call-center service levels, mean time to repair, or overall customer satisfaction, always press to be better, faster, and stronger than your competitor, and strive to get it right for the customer as much as possible.  

What item of news recently caught your eye and why?
I keep seeing TV commercials where people turn to “the cloud” to accomplish something, whether it be for some type of collaborative work, or for family picture albums, etc. This is the new mantra for accessing software and applications remotely, and it just so happens it aligns very nicely with the new line of Cloud Computing products and services that Broadview is rolling out to small- and medium-sized businesses. So all things “cloud” have been resonating with me lately.

If you could choose another profession, what would it be?
I’ve always wondered what it would be like to be a doctor, particularly a neurologist. I’ve always been fascinated by the field of medicine.

What quality or qualities do you most value in your business associates? Trust and respect are a given, but I would add that I also value people who are positive thinkers and who bring innovative ideas to the table. These are the people who help me to step outside the everyday comfort zone and to grow as a teammate and colleague.

What do you think is the worst bad habit to have at work? Procrastination ranks right up there as one of the least desirable habits to have—especially at work. Every day I come into the office and look directly at a sign on my desk that says: “Be Proactive!”

As someone at the top of your profession, what keeps you inspired or makes you hit the ground running in the morning?
I think it’s important to like what you are doing, and to be challenged by your job every day. If you don’t love what you do, it’s going to be difficult to be really successful at it!  I begin every morning with a game plan for the day.  As I move through the day, I check off my completed tasks, while also adding short- and long-term tasks to the list.  This gives me a real sense of accomplishment about what I do.

About Art Gairo
Art Gairo is the senior vice president of Operations for Broadview Networks, with responsibility for all Service, Repair, and Care Centers; the Enterprise Customer Support Division; Field Operations; and the Agent and Wholesale Support Divisions.  Gairo has more than 18 years of leadership experience in operations management in the telecommunications industry. He joined Broadview Networks as a vice president of Customer Operations (previously ATX Communications) in May 2004.  Prior to that, Gairo served as vice president of Customer Operations for Allegiance Teleco, now part of XO Communications.  Before that, Gairo worked as Team Leader of Field Engineering for MCI Communications.

About Broadview Networks
Broadview Networks is a network-based business-communications provider serving customers nationwide. It provides the total solution for business communications, including all distance-voice communications, premises-based and patented hosted VoIP systems and data services encompassing VPN- and MPLS-enabled applications, traditional telephone hardware, high-speed Internet services, a full suite of managed services, and a range of professional services. Broadview also provides an innovative portfolio of bundled, hosted IP phone and cloud computing services designed to meet the unique application requirements of diverse workforce groups. Its customers benefit from award-winning customer service, including a web-based account-management tool and a primary point-of-contact for real-time, personal customer care.

Broadview is a control investment of MCG Capital Corporation (NASDAQ: MCGC). Its largest investors are MCG Capital, Baker Capital and New Enterprise Associates.

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Jackie O'Leary, Vice President of Customer Operations at Everything Everywhere in the United Kingdom, was named Customer Service Executive of the Year in the customer service awards categories of The 2010 International Business Awards. Everything Everywhere is also a leading contender with multiple Finalists in the 2011 Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service, which will be announced in Miami Beach on February 21.

Everything Everywhere is the joint venture company running two of Britain's most famous brands, Orange and T-Mobile. It is Britain's biggest communications company, with a combined customer base of almost 28 million—half the UK adult population, 6,000 employees, and more than 720 retail stores across the two brands. Everything Everywhere was recognized in The Stevies’ customer service award categories, and here we look at how they earned their reputation for service excellence.

The explosive growth of telecommunications over the past 20 years has also often been a tale of woe for the customer, with promised high-quality customer service often proving to be something of a myth.

Jackie O'Leary, Vice President of Customer Operations at Everything Everywhere, has made it her mission to ensure the story has a different ending, one where customer satisfaction, employee engagement, and an improved bottom line for the company can live happily together.

As VP of Customer Operations, O’Leary is responsible for the customer service, loyalty, and retention functions of the Orange and T-Mobile brands and has integrated them into one efficient, effective organization that is one of the market leaders for quality as well as size. This operation supports Everything Everywhere’s 28 million customers through a team of circa 10,000 advisers.

Brilliant Service
O’Leary joined Orange UK at the end of 2008 and had a phenomenally successful first year, leading the customer services business through a rapid and complete rejuvenation to catapult it back to leadership in mobile customer services.

To identify and deliver these improvements, O’Leary introduced the Brilliant Service program, creating 20 work-streams of activities to address every aspect of the customer experience.

O’Leary believes employee satisfaction links directly to customer satisfaction. She initiated the creation of an innovative customer satisfaction and performance measurement system called Brilliance, which enables thousands of customers to rate and comment on the service they receive on a daily basis.

For the first time these scores are linked directly to the customer service agents’ rewards, ensuring they take ownership of the customer experience on every call. Brilliance has also massively expanded customer insight.

The Bee’s Knees
O’Leary introduced a new reward-and-recognition scheme, The Bee’s Knees, providing monthly awards to top performers in customer advocacy or to those who help others to excel.

O’Leary also introduced new activities and initiatives under the banner 'Brilliant Place to Work', which included charity, community, and wellbeing weeks, concierge services, and—voted "best ever"—Christmas parties.

The annual employee survey, just nine months after she joined, showed O’Leary to be the bee’s knees herself, with meaningful increases across almost all metrics of employee engagement and loyalty.

Improving Processes
O’Leary also led a cross-Orange program to identify and improve Orange processes, products, and systems that were hampering customer satisfaction and delaying achievement of the company vision to be the “best-loved communications brand.”  These improvements cut customer calls by 14% and increased first-time resolution from 13% to 72%.

The results of O’Leary’s efforts make an incredible turnaround story. Customer satisfaction increased by 9% as measured by Brilliance in the second half of 2009, a considerable change in a customer base of 17 million. At the same time, O’Leary cut operating expenditure by 11% (double figures millions of pounds). Even more impressively, customer advocacy increased an unprecedented 25% in the same period.

By these key measures, O’Leary has returned Orange to a leadership position in mobile customer services. In its annual UK survey in May 2009, industry analysts JD Power rated Orange top for Pay Monthly customer services out of the major mobile network operators. Overall, Orange came second, up from fifth just two years earlier in a highly competitive market.

Following these achievements for Orange, Jackie was appointed to the Everything Everywhere Customer Operations role, where she is now bringing her own flavor of leadership to both brands, Orange and T-Mobile.

These are the just the latest successes in a stunning track record for O'Leary over the past 20 years. While this is definitely no fairy tale, we hope that Everything Everywhere, its customers, and its employees live happily ever after.

About Jackie O'Leary
Jackie O'Leary's career has encompassed senior roles and strategic projects for over 20 years at many of Europe's leading communications providers, including Orange, T-Mobile, Vodafone, O2, AOL, and Telewest. In May 2009 she was appointed VP of Customer Operations for Everything Everywhere, responsible for customer service, sales, loyalty, and retention. This followed 18 months running customer services for Orange UK. Previously, O’Leary had been VP Customer Services at The Carphone Warehouse, where she revived customer satisfaction and cut costs by £20 million. Prior to that, O’Leary ran a strategic consultancy for ten years.

About Everything Everywhere
Everything Everywhere Limited is the company running two of the UK’s most famous brands – T-Mobile (UK) and Orange (UK). Owned jointly by Deutsche Telekom and France Telecom respectively, Everything Everywhere Limited is the UK’s biggest communications company, with a combined customer base of almost 28 million people and more than 720 retail stores across the country. Everything Everywhere Limited plans to transform the industry by giving customers instant access to everything everywhere, offering the best value, best choice and best network experience in the country. For more information on Everything Everywhere visit www.everythingeverywhere.com.

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Ron Essig is VP, Global Owner Products and Services, Marriott Vacation Club International, and member of the Board of Judges of the 2011 Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service, which recently announced the Finalists in its 5th annual competition.

What item of news recently caught your eye and why?
I followed with interest all of the legislation that was approved in Washington, D.C. during the recent “lame duck” session of the U.S. Congress.  I find it amazing that people can accomplish many things when they put their minds to it.

What New Year’s resolution have you made and why? 
Stay focused on what is truly important: Family.

What book are you currently reading?
It’s Not About the Bike: My Journey Back to Life, by Lance Armstrong and Sally Jenkins.

What was the last movie you saw, and would you recommend it?
The Fighter.It was both a motivational and a feel-good movie—just the kind of movie we were in the mood for when we went to see it.

What is your favorite sport or hobby?
Following my son’s interests of baseball and music, and hiking in the mountains with my two Siberian Huskies.

Who (apart from close family) is your favorite living person?
While I can’t say he is my favorite person—I’ve not had the pleasure of meeting him—I really admire the work done by John Wood, founder of Room to Read, a nonprofit organization that has helped to educate over four million children around the world.

If you could choose another profession, what would it be?
I would be involved in some sort of nonprofit organization that could help give opportunities through mentoring to young adults and could help open doors into business and careers for the less fortunate.

What quality or qualities do you most value in your business associates?    
Honesty, creativity, and drive.

What do you think is the worst bad habit to have at work?
Apathy.

As someone at the top of your profession, what keeps you inspired or makes you hit the ground running in the morning?
Working with a team of professional associates who are genuinely focused every day on delivering customer service excellence and the awesome experiences that make vacation dreams come true.

What do you consider has been your greatest achievement in business?
Being able to learn and grow in a variety of positions over 25 years with one incredible company.

What advice or useful tip would you give to someone who is just starting out in business?
Learn from the ground up, and don’t ever forget where you came from.

About Ron Essig
Ron Essig is the vice president, Global Owner Products and Services, for Marriott Vacation Club International. As a member of the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service Board of Judges he will be helping select the customer service award winners in the 2011 competition. Essig is a 24-year Marriott veteran, and began his career as a Management Trainee at the Chicago Downtown Marriott Hotel.

About Marriott Vacation Club International
As the interval ownership division of Marriott International, Inc., Marriott Vacation Club International is a premier provider of vacation and leisure experiences for more than 400,000 Owners and Members. Since entering the timeshare industry in 1984, Marriott has earned its position as a leader and innovator in vacation and fractional ownership products worldwide. The company has since segmented the industry to offer distinct vacation and real estate offerings, each based on the unique needs and desires of customers. The brands are: Marriott Vacation Club, Grand Residences by Marriott, and The Ritz-Carlton Destination Club, as well as select whole ownership developments. For information visit www.marriottvacationclub.com or www.ritzcarltondestinationclub.com.

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The final entry deadline for the 2011 Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service is extended through January 7, and after Finalists are announced next week, voting will open on January 14 for the second annual edition of the People's Choice Stevie Awards for Favorite Customer Service. To be notified when voting opens, click here.

For the general public, this means you get to help decide who should be honored for providing you with great customer service over the past year.  For nominees in the awards, this means that you have an opportunity to win two awards: a Stevie Award, as voted by business professionals, and a People's Choice award, as voted by the general public, including your own customers.                   

In each of the seven competitive, peer-judged Customer Service Department of the Year categories in the 2010 awards, voting was also opened to the general public for the first People's Choice Stevie Awards for Favorite Customer Service. More than 87,000 votes were cast from January 13 through February 12. Winners of the first People's Choice Stevie Awards for Favorite Customer Service are:

Airlines, Distribution & Transportation: Fedex, Memphis, TN
Financial Services: Family Heritage Life Insurance Company of America, Cleveland, OH
IT & Telecommunications: Qualtrics Labs, Inc., Orem, UT
Leisure & Tourism: Hilton Worldwide, McLean, VA
Public Services & Education: U.S. Postal Service, Washington, DC
Retail: Macy's, Cincinnati, OH
All Other Industries: PetRays Veterinary Telemedicine Consultants, The Woodlands, TX

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With the final deadline for the 2011 Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service extended through January 7, we thought you should have one last opportunity to view the recording of the webinar we held back in October about how to enter the the world's premier sales awards, call center awards, and customer service awards.

The video is about 50 minutes, and covers the history of the awards, the types of categories they include, how to choose categories, how to write great nominations, how the judging process works, pitfalls to avoid, and tips to adopt.

The entry deadline won't be extended past this week, so get your entries in now.  Finalists will be announced next week, and the final results announced at a banquet at the Eden Roc Renaissance Hotel in Miami Beach on Monday, February 21.