For the third straight year, Associated Bank's contact center operations have been recognized for customer service excellence in its live phone channel by the J.D. Power Certified Contact Center Program.
As part of its rigorous evaluation, J.D. Power conducted a detailed operational evaluation that included recruiting, training, management, and quality assurance capabilities. The process also included a random survey of Associated Bank customers who recently called its contact centers in Green Bay, Wis., and Stevens Point, Wis. Associated Bank ranked in the top 20 percent of all benchmarks.
Philip Flynn, Associated Bank's president and CEO, said the company takes great pride in J.D. Power's certification.
"Exceptional customer experience is at the heart of what we do, and we are honored to receive this J.D. Power certification," he said in a statement. "It demonstrates that the commitment to our customers is a top priority for our employees and confirms our high standards for customer service.
"This recognition proves that we are effectively listening to our customers, responding to their needs, and adapting to their preferences and behaviors for a better banking experience," he continued. "We are incredibly proud of our dedicated employees who are consistently looking for new and better ways to serve our customers."
Launched by J.D. Power in 2004, the Certified Contact Center Program evaluates overall customer satisfaction with live phone interactions and helps organizations increase their efficiency and effectiveness by establishing and continually updating leading practices for handling service calls. The program certifies the live phone channel, the IVR self-service channel, and the Web self-service channel.
To achieve certification, a contact center must perform within the top 20 percent of customer service scores, which are based on benchmarks established in J.D. Power's cross-industry customer satisfaction research.n The evaluation criteria includes the customer service representatives' courtesy, knowledge and concern for the customer, promptness in speaking to a person, and timely resolution of the problem or request. The experience with the automated phone system is evaluated based on the clarity of the information provided, ease of navigating the phone menu prompts, and ease of understanding phone menu instructions.