Customer Service Week Is Coming: How Will You Celebrate?

In 1992, the U.S. Congress declared the first week of every October to be National Customer Service Week. In a proclamation, then president George H. W. Bush wrote of the value of a holistic customer experience:

"A business built on customer service understands and anticipates the customer's needs. It designs goods and services to meet those needs and builds products that perform to customer expectations. It then packages them carefully, labels them correctly, sells them at a fair price, delivers them as scheduled, and follows up, as necessary, to satisfy the customer. This kind of commitment to service leads to customer loyalty and to genuine improvements at the bottom line."

Now, 20 years later, will you take the opportunity to celebrate, reflect, or honor your own commitment to customer service next week?

Many use this week as a opportunity to reward or recognize those who are on the front line with customers - from call center representatives to retail staff. Another way to celebrate could be taking this as an opportunity to step back and review your holistic customer experience - go through the process of making an order, calling a helpline, using your website or visiting a store - and asking, is there more we could be doing? Lastly, this is a great time to hold a training, take a class, or read some thought-leadership: get re-inspired! (Perhaps join our LinkedIn group to discuss your challenges with like-minded individuals.)

Here's some of our recent favorites in thought leadership to start with:

1to1media: Customer Experience Leaders Spank Customer Experience Laggards in Total Returns

Chadwick Martin Bailey: Is Your Loyalty Program Just a Face in the Crowd?

Social Media Today Social Customer: Why Customer Insight Matters To Every Customer Service Leader

Whatever you are doing, we'd love to hear from our community. Post photos of your celebrations to our Facebook page or share in the comments below.

Michelle LeBlanc is a Social Media Strategist at IIR USA with a specialization in marketing. She is the voice behind the Total Customer Experience Leaders Summit on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. She may be reached at mleblanc@iirusa.com