Great customer service is at the heart of every strong company. From Amazon to Zappos, companies that truly care about their customers will do whatever it takes to attract them and keep them happy. The same principle applies to both consumer-facing and business-to-business companies.
The challenge of keeping customers happy often falls on customer service representatives (also known as CSRs), which can be a tough task indeed. Whether they are working in a call center, a retail location or in another capacity, CSRs often face angry or disgruntled customers, long days and many problems they must help resolve. It can feel like a thankless job.
Make Time to Recognize CSRs
As a best practice, companies should plan ways to recognize CSRs throughout the year through informal and day-to-day recognition. Yet, they should put special emphasis into Customer Service Week to recognize them formally.
In 1992, the U.S. Congress proclaimed Customer Service Week a nationally recognized event—to honor the hard work and efforts of CSRs. We now celebrate this during the first full week in October each year.
There are many reasons why acknowledging those who work in customer service matters a great deal. For one thing, the sheer number of people in customer service is significant and growing. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, customer service is one of the top 10 occupations in America, with 2.39 million workers. The number of jobs in customer service will grow by 9.8% between 2014-2024.
The White House Office of Consumer Affairs notes that news of bad customer service reaches more than twice as many people as does praise for a good service experience. What’s more, it is six to seven times more expensive to acquire a new customer than it is to keep a current one.
And in case you still think customer satisfaction doesn’t matter, consider this: 3 in 5 Americans (59%) would try a new brand company for a better service experience, according to an American Express survey.
Why We Believe Customer Service Representatives Deserve Special Recognition
At C.A. Short Company, we help our clients celebrate and salute CSRs year-round! After all, we know how impactful positive recognition is not just to the individual representatives, but to our clients’ bottom line results.
Note: We prefer the term clients as opposed to customers...but however you think of the people who buy your products and services, they are the lifeblood of your business!
Many case studies (Harvard Business Review, CFO Magazine) underscore how an increase in customer satisfaction and employee engagement can improve a company’s financial performance. For example, Best Buy reported that for every 10th of a point it increased employee engagement, the store enjoyed a $100,000 increase in operating income annually.
Ideas to Celebrate Customer Service Week
Stay tuned for our next post on our top ideas to celebrate Customer Service Week!
For future planning, we recommend you start early. We find that many of our clients have formulated their plans and budgets by June, in order to be well prepared to properly celebrate Customer Service Week in October. To be added to our “reminder” email for next year's Customer Service Week -- and to stay up-to-date on all things C. A. Short -- please fill out the form below.
To learn more about how C.A. Short Company can make your Customer Service Week a smashing success, please contact us for a free consultation.
C.A. Short Company partners with companies to manage, drive and facilitate increased employee engagement to increase financial performance, productivity, quality, and core performance outcomes. Our process and research-based platform enables executives and managers to engage their teams to increase the bottom line, motivate staff, and incentivize positive behavior. To request a Complimentary Consultation, please click here.