As we enter October, most people are settling into back-to-school schedules, football season, and the start of the October Classic. While my fellow Philadelphians get ready to cheer on our Phillies in the playoffs, my coworkers at Comcast are also recognizing another important annual event. The first full week of October is when thousands of companies across the United States and around the world celebrate Customer Service Week.
First introduced in 1988, this annual event acknowledges the importance of customer service as a critical component for success in business while celebrating the dedicated teams and individuals that help customers each and every day across a range of products and services. In 1992, "National Customer Service Week" was officially established in the United States as the U.S. Congress officially recognized it with a proclamation from President George Bush declaring:
"A business built on customer service understands and anticipates the customer's needs...A business will do a better job of providing high quality goods and services by listening to its employees and by empowering them with opportunities to make a difference."
Fast forward two decades, and the impact of customer support has never been more critical in a hyper-competitive world and has never been more in focus for Comcast than it is today.
Over the last few years Comcast has made significant investments to help our customer service agents make a difference for our customers — from new tools, technologies and training to our "Customer Guarantee" that fully backs all of our products and hold us accountable. We have even created an entire team called OneComcast that gathers feedback directly from customers and is focused on enhancing products and processes to deliver a world class entertainment and communications experience.
But it is the service professionals who help our customers every day that are fueling and ultimately driving the success of these types of programs at Comcast. People like Bill Gerth, who recently was named the 2011 Agent of the Year from the Recognition of Excellence in Customer Support & Service (R.E.C.S.S.) Awards.
As a member of Comcast's Digital Media Outreach Team and a social media customer service specialist, Bill helps customers who use Twitter, Forums and Facebook. Working with Bill every day, I can tell you that he embodies the passion and values of thousands of Comcast customer support agents nation-wide.
I am proud to work every day alongside the thousands of Comcast customer service professionals, like Bill, who strive to make a difference for each and every customer. With that in mind, please join me in congratulating Bill and taking a moment to celebrate customer service professionals everywhere during Customer Service Week.