The industry’s biggest mystery shopping exercise will benchmark some of the UK’s largest call centres, strengthening their commitment to outstanding customer service

London, 12 August 2009:  In a recession customer service will be what decides the survivors so when the customers speak we had all better listen.  And over 17,000 of them are talking to the Top 50 Call Centres for Customer Service, an initiative organised by Call Centre Focus magazine, about the service they have received.   The massive mystery shopping and benchmarking initiative aims to drive better nationwide performance by recognising excellence, spreading best practice and raising the profile of the top performing companies.

Participating call centres will be rated on over 50 criteria across five key areas of service – timeliness, ease of use, reliability, staff knowledge and personalised service.  Based on their results, each call centre will be awarded a Customer Service rating in percentage terms.

The mystery shopping exercise is a key tool for the Top 50 call centres to benchmark their service against other UK call centres, and helps strengthen each call centre’s commitment to providing remarkable customer service. 

Claudia Hathway, Editor, Call Centre Focus, said: “The Top 50 Call Centres for Customer Service initiative has a clear aim of changing the negative perception of call centres by celebrating those who provide exceptional customer service.  By benchmarking their interactions, call centres can get a clear picture of what it is that UK customers really want from their interactions, strengthening customer relationships and providing the best possible service.”

Sally Ainsworth, Customer Strategy and Change Delivery Director, United Utilities, said: “We entered the Top 50 programme because we are committed to understanding our customer needs and delivering a service that delights them. Our customers compare our service to that of all other companies they deal with, not only other water companies, so it’s important for us to understand how we compare to these companies. The Top 50 programme provided an excellent opportunity for us to do this.”

Call centres participating in the Top 50 Call Centres for Customer Service initiative adhere to the following core values:
•   First call resolution – all callers get their query or issues resolved in just one phone call
•   Friendly & courteous service – all callers receive a friendly and polite service from every single call centre agent
•   Informative agents – all callers can speak with an agent who has the knowledge and understanding to deal with their enquiry