Call Center: 1-800 CONTACTS Recognized For Providing An Outstanding Customer Service Experience

For the first time, 1-800 CONTACTS has been recognized for call center operation customer satisfaction excellence under the J.D. Power and Associates Certified Call Center Program. This distinction acknowledges a strong commitment from 1-800 CONTACTS' call center operations to provide "An Outstanding Customer Service Experience."

Located in Draper, Utah, the 1-800 CONTACTS call center handles more than 2 million phone, fax and e-mail inquiries from customers per year. To become certified, the call center operations successfully passed a detailed audit of their recruiting, training, employee incentives, management roles and responsibilities, and quality assurance capabilities. As part of its evaluation, J.D. Power and Associates conducted a random survey of 1-800 CONTACTS customers who recently contacted its call centers.

"Based on the feedback provided by their customers, it is clear that 1-800 CONTACTS' call centers are proficient in effectively handling customer issues and concerns, which are critical to achieving high levels of customer satisfaction," said Jonathan Brookner, director of the telecommunications practice at J.D. Power and Associates. "The true strength of 1-800 CONTACTS' call center resides with their representatives, who are viewed as being highly courteous and knowledgeable."

For certification status, a call center must also perform within the top 20 percent of customer service, which is based on benchmarks established in J.D. Power and Associates' cross-industry customer satisfaction research. The criteria used include evaluation of: courtesy; knowledge; concern for the customer; usefulness of the information provided; convenience of operating hours; ease of reaching a representative; and timely resolution.

"We are honored and proud of this accomplishment," said Jonathan Coon, chief executive officer at 1-800 CONTACTS. "1-800 CONTACTS' call center employs the latest technology, but takes an old-fashioned approach to customer service—maintaining long-standing traditions like answering calls with live representatives and sending customers handwritten apology notes when an order is delayed or the company makes a mistake. The recognition from J.D. Power and Associates certainly validates the approaches we take."

The Call Center Certification Program was launched by J.D. Power and Associates in 2004 to evaluate overall customer satisfaction with call centers and to help call centers in various industries increase their efficiency and effectiveness by establishing best practices for handling service calls.

There are more than 75,000 call centers in North America and an estimated 125,000 worldwide that help customers with product and service questions across a multitude of industries, ranging from credit cards, financial services, investment services, utilities, service warranty and insurance to telecommunications, healthcare and office products.

About J.D. Power and Associates
Headquartered in Westlake Village, Calif., J.D. Power and Associates is an ISO 9001-registered global marketing information services firm operating in key business sectors including market research, forecasting, performance improvement, training and customer satisfaction. The firm's quality and satisfaction measurements are based on responses from millions of consumers annually. For more information on car reviews and ratings, car insurance, health insurance, cell phone ratings, and more, please visit JDPower.com. J.D. Power and Associates is a business unit of The McGraw-Hill Companies.

About The McGraw-Hill Companies
Founded in 1888, The McGraw-Hill Companies is a leading global information services provider meeting worldwide needs in the financial services, education and business information markets through leading brands such as Standard & Poor's, McGraw-Hill Education, BusinessWeek and J.D. Power and Associates. The Corporation has more than 280 offices in 40 countries. Sales in 2006 were $6.3B. Additional information is available at www.mcgraw-hill.com.

SOURCE: McGraw-Hill Companies