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American Express recognized for its world-class service centers based on customer satisfaction survey
TORONTO, Nov. 16, 2011 /CNW/ - American Express Canada has been given a Service Quality Award of Excellence for its customer call centres, being recognized for the highest customer satisfaction rate among credit card companies in North America.
Judged by customers who called and employees who work in call centres, the findings were released recently as part of an annual effort by Service Quality Measurement (SQM), an industry-focused research firm that tracks, benchmarks and recognizes over 450 leading North American call centres on an annual basis. Since 1998, SQM has been giving out Awards of Excellence after conducting over one million surveys with customers who have contacted a customer call centre.
"Every time a customer calls us, we view it as an opportunity to deepen our relationship with them," says Andrew Carlton, General Manager and Vice President, World Service at American Express Canada. "We're honoured to be recognized by our own customers for providing outstanding value and service."
For 158 years, American Express Canada has made exceptional customer service the cornerstone of its brand. American Express takes a novel approach to customer care by investing in new resources, changing hiring standards and training practices, shifting employee compensation to align with customer feedback, and empowering employee with a service ethos, Relationship CareSM. This service ethos is the overall strategy to deepen customer relationships by providing tailored information and service that reinforces the value of products, and services for individual customers and to resolve inquiries upon first contact.
One of the ways American Express Canada gauges the level of customer care is through 'Recommend to a Friend' feedback, which not only measures general satisfaction, but also how likely it is that a customer would positively endorse American Express products and services to the people who matter most to them.
Some of the programs that best reflect American Express Canada's commitment to customer service include:
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PERSONALIZED 24/7 SERVICE: Cardmembers have access to personalized 24/7 customer care support at
any time, whether at home or half a world away with American Express
World Service. Call toll-free from across North America or collect from
anywhere in the world and get the same exceptional treatment.
-
ONE-CALL RESOLUTION: Getting passed around from person to person is frustrating, that's why
we promise to help sort out your inquiry or pass you directly to
someone who can.
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CUSTOMER CARE: American Express World Service is far from a stereotypical service
center. American Express selects and trains the best people with a
passion to serve. Customer Care Professionals don't just satisfy
customers, it's about establishing an emotional connection and
deepening relationships with them.
- THE EXTRA STEP: American Express offers Platinum and Centurion Cardmembers concierge services, going above and beyond. The team is always prepared to assist day and night - from locating hard-to-find products to securing an outstanding restaurant reservation.
"If there's one constant throughout the history of our company, it's our focus on service," says Carlton. "It is our top priority to make each customer experience personal, and it's our Customer Care Professionals that deliver on this promise."
About American Express Canada
American Express in Canada operates as Amex Bank of Canada and Amex Canada Inc. Both are wholly owned subsidiaries of the New York based American Express Travel Related Services Company, Inc., the largest operating unit of the American Express Company. Amex Bank of Canada is the issuer of American Express charge and credit cards, with outstanding products like the American Express® Gold Rewards Card and the American Express® AeroplanPlus® Gold Card. Amex Canada Inc. operates the Corporate Travel and Travellers Cheques divisions in Canada. American Express opened its first offices in Toronto and Hamilton in 1853 and now employs 3,700 Canadians coast-to-coast. For more information, visit American Express on Facebook.
About SQM and the survey
Service Quality Measurement (SQM) benchmarks over 450 leading North American call centers on an annual basis and has been conducting first call resolution (FCR), employee satisfaction (Esat) and customer satisfaction (Csat) benchmarking studies since 1996. On an annual basis, SQM conducts over 1 million surveys with customers who have called a call centre. SQM awards are based on customers who have used a call centre and employees who work in a call centre. SQM conducted the benchmarking studies between Oct. 1, 2010 and Sept. 30, 2011. For each call centre that participated in our customer benchmarking study, SQM completed 400 post-call phone surveys, providing a margin of error of plus or minus five per cent with a confidence level of 95 per cent.
Amanda Betti, 905-474-7903, amanda.betti1@aexp.com