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Customer Service Week October 6 - 10, 2008 |
Customer Service Week Agendas —
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1. To kick off the week, everyone on the customer service team reaffirmed their commitment to delivering superior service by signing the 2007 “Connecting with Customers Service Pledge.” The pledge was then framed and hung in the service department as a yearlong reminder of this commitment. 2. To demonstrate how the entire group works best when everyone works together, the team used the 2007 “Puzzle Piece Activity.” Each team member received a paper puzzle-piece and was asked to personalize it with their name and three things that are unique or special about them. The puzzle pieces were then connected to show how the team comes together to successfully serve customers. 3. Finally, a Shout Out Board was set up to recognize the contributions of individual team members and to strengthen team bonds. Everyone received over-sized post-it notes and was asked to write a brief note of commendation about a teammate. The notes were displayed throughout the week. |  |
Training takes center stage
At the Virginia Department of Transportation training is both educational and fun during Customer Service Week.
As in the past, the customer service committee hosted a Video Day in which decorations, costumes and snacks all reflected the theme of the training video.
This year’s selection was “The Royal Treatment,” a humorous videotape set in “days of yore,” which brings the idea of treating customers like royalty into today’s workplace.
Guests entered the auditorium where the video was shown by crossing a wooden drawbridge. Once inside, they found that half the room was decorated like a dungeon and half like a castle. Members of the customer service committee were dressed appropriately as characters from the movie, including a king, executioner, and jester.
As guests left the auditorium, they received magnetic cards that had been imprinted with the committee’s formula for giving every customer the royal treatment.
R — Recognize and acknowledge
O — Offer assistance
Y — Yes, I can attitude
A — Agree on a solution
Eye-opening learning experience
The highlight of the weeklong celebration at Cambrex Corporation was a special activity, which turned frontline reps into customers and gave them an opportunity to benchmark their service against other organizations.
Supervisor Tom Shifflett describes the benchmarking program as an eye-opening experience for the customer service team. Here’s how it worked:
Reps were divided into teams of two and given a list of items to purchase. Then, the entire department went to a local mall. But this was no ordinary shopping trip, as reps had to follow these rules:
• Only one item may be purchased per store.
• Each person on the team must purchase each item.
• A salesperson must be consulted at each store.
• A customer service evaluation form must be completed for each store.
The evaluation form included the following questions:
Later, the entire team met to review their completed evaluation forms, to discuss areas where improvement could be made, and to determine lessons learned that they could transfer to their own operations.
While the Cambrex team chose to shop in the local mall, this eye-opening event could just as easily be adapted to telephone or online shopping.
And just in case you’re wondering what happened with all those items that were purchased — they were given to the reps as thank-you gifts!
Celebration does it all
The call center team at Neways Inc. celebrated Customer Service Week with five full days of events and activities focused on thanking reps, reducing stress, and increasing product knowledge. They are wonderful ideas that can be incorporated into any celebration.
Customers thank their reps
Before Customer Service Week even started an email was
sent to the entire company and to all of Neways’ customers.
Their customers are distributors for Neways’ health,
wellness and personal care products. The email described
Customer Service Week and the Neways celebration and
invited customers and coworkers to call their rep throughout the week to thank them for a job
well done.
Reinforcing the mission
Neways then kicked off the week with a breakfast gathering.
The highlight of the event was each agent describing their
commitment to the company’s service mission. Agents were
asked to write a brief note describing how they personally
meet that mission on a poster imprinted with the company’s mission
statement.
Relieving stress
On Tuesday, the team gathered to learn Japanese-style
calisthenics, which they can use throughout the year to
release stress.
Increasing product knowledge
Wednesday’s highlight was Neways’ version of the popular
TV game show “The Price is Right,” in which agents were
asked to match some of Neways’ 300 products with the
correct pricing.
Recognizing reps
The entire department shared a catered lunch on Thursday.
Attire was formal but the event was anything but stuffy
as reps received awards in categories such as: most
knowledgeable, funniest, most helpful, agent of the year,
and others. The luncheon was capped off by a hypnotist
who wowed the group and their guests from other
departments.
Managers thank their reps
After a full day of activities on Friday, each rep received
a thank-you card and gift from management. Each card
included a personal message from the department supervisors
and manager.
If you’d like to share your agenda and photographs, please send them to CS Week Relationship Manager, Mary Dalessandro. You may email them to mdalessandro@CSWeek.com or send them through the mail to Customer Service Group, 712 Main Street — Suite 187B, Boonton, NJ 07005.
Host Festive Activities
Connect with Coworkers
Host Challenging Contests
Connect with Customers
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Customer Service Week!
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