For National Customer Service Week this year, we decided to run an updated version of our previous post: National Customer Service Week 2011: What’s Your Plan?

This week, October 7-13, marks National Customer Service Week (NCSW). NCSW was established by proclamation of President Bush (#41) in 1992. The beginning of the proclamation reads:

In a thriving free enterprise system such as ours, which provides consumers with a wide range of goods and services from which to choose, the most successful businesses are those that display a strong commitment to customer satisfaction. Today foreign competition as well as consumer demands are requiring greater corporate efficiency and productivity. If the United States is to remain a leader in the changing global economy, highest quality customer service must be a personal goal of every employee in business and industry. (Read the full proclamation.)

Of course, if your organization is committed to the customer experience, every week should be customer service week; however, “official” weeks like this are a great opportunity to generate discussions with customers and team members and to take the time to do a little extra.

National Customer Service Week: A Roundup of Ideas

If you haven’t had a chance to do anything special for this year’s National Customer Service Week yet, we thought we would provide you some great ideas from some of our favorite customer service thought leaders and blogs to help you close out the week.

Check out the ideas listed below. I have included my favorite idea from the author’s’ lists and a link to the authors’ full posts so you can access all of their great ideas.

Richard Shapiro: Reward Frontline Representatives

• “Specific or periodic programs to reward associates definitely serve a purpose; however, it’s a good idea for any organization to create award programs that are significant and recognize superior performance on a consistent basis.”
  

Erica Strother (ICMI Blog): Don’t Forget to Celebrate Your Customers, Too

• “As you’re celebrating your customer service team this week, it’s also a good time to stop and think about the ways you celebrate your customers. Do you treat your customers like they’re invited guests to a party? Do you make them feel like they’re an important and valuable part of your business?”

Shep Hyken: Ten Customer and Employee Focused Ideas for NCSW

• “Create a short video, thanking your customers, and post it on YouTube with links from other social media sites. Consider having as many of your employees as possible be a part of the video.”
  

The Official Customer Service Week Website: Tips for a Successful Celebration

• “Send a Customer Service Week Thank-You Card to each of your customers. For maximum impact, include a hand-written note, a copy of your service mission statement, or a photograph of your team.”

(This website does sell commercial items for NCSW but also has some good information on the event.)

Kate Nasser: National Customer Service Week – Celebrate People Skills

• “Treat people the way they want to be treated – not the way you want to be treated. I call this the diamond bond of customer service!”
  

One More Idea for National Customer Service Week

In addition to the ideas above, set aside a day or a morning/afternoon for an “Open Line to Management.” Have a manager and/or owner available to take calls from customers. Send out an email to your clients mentioning that, in honor of National Customer Service Week, we are setting aside a time to listen to our customers one on one. Encourage them to share any feedback they have, positive and negative.

How will you celebrate National Customer Service Week? What was your favorite idea?