Customer Service Week Resources

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Spirited Pep Rally

  By Celebration Stories and Ideas, Focus on Fun

Delta Dental of New Jersey celebrated Customer Service Week with four busy days leading up to a luncheon and pep rally on Friday.

The entire company was split into teams of roughly 20 people each. Smaller departments joined together and larger departments were broken down into smaller teams. Each team was asked to create a cheer and to decorate a rolling office chair for their float in the pep rally.

During the company luncheon each team rolled out their float and performed their cheer. Ellen Schworn in the human resources department describes the scene, “We laughed as we watched associates become cheerleaders and drill sergeants before our eyes, heard clever spirit-filled rhymes, and were genuinely amazed at the floats as we saw originality beyond belief.”

The winning team was called the “First Floor Flossers.” This is Delta Dental after all. The team dressed in navy blue, built a float called the S.S. Spirit of Service, and created a cheer to the tune of the theme song from the television show Gilligan’s Island.

While the event sparked a lot of creativity and spirit, perhaps most important of all was that everyone came away with a new appreciation of their friends and colleagues.

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Split Personality (Remote ready)

  By Activities, Team Building

Description

This witty activity was developed by a customer service manager for her team. The goal was to help team members get to know each other while working from home.

This activity requires Zoom or another collaboration platform.

Materials

None

Directions

Select a date for the activity. Ask reps to dress with special care on that day. They should dress in appropriate office attire on the top and for a hobby or favorite activity on the bottom.

Next, call on each person individually to stand up and describe what they are wearing.

Reps will learn about each other’s interests and perhaps find some common ground. 

Discussion

Were you surprised by any of the split personalities in our group?

Has this sparked interest in trying a new activity yourself?

This activity suggests that we don’t have to be all business all of the time. How do you find balance between work and hobbies?

Return to Customer Service Week Activities

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Sponsors Provide Funding

  By Celebration Stories and Ideas, Host Games and Competitions

While we always advocate planning early, here’s one team that learned about Customer Service Week just a few days ahead of time. Undaunted, the customer service team at The Institute of Internal Auditors put together a wonderful celebration. Their keys to success were asking other departments to sponsor activities, and creating low-cost games, which poked a little good-natured fun at senior management.

Here’s how the week came together:

  • Monday was sports day with the marketing department sponsoring a pizza lunch. The day’s main activity was a low-cost bowling game. Bowling pins were created from empty soda bottles and to add to the fun, photos of the leadership team adorned each bottle.
  • Tuesday was color day and the team dressed in Customer Service Week colors. The membership and human resources departments provided a catered lunch and the team played a home-grown game called Sharpie Put. The object of the game is to hit a paper target with a Sharpie marker. And because management came in for their share of ribbing, the center of the target featured a photograph of the department’s vice president.
  • Wednesday was cozy-slippers day. And who wouldn’t like to wear slippers at work. The certifications department provided breakfast and the team played basket toss with a foam ball and a trash can.
  • Thursday was crazy-hat day with the event services group sponsoring breakfast. The team got to know colleagues with a matching game. A sheet was created for each of the two service teams. The sheet simply included a photograph of each team member. Then the sheets were distributed to the other team. Next, it was time for reps to write down the name of each person on the other team alongside their photograph. And if a rep didn’t know someone’s name? Then she had to go to the other department, introduce herself and ask.
  • Friday was Hawaiian shirt day. The bookstore department and the research foundation sponsored breakfast and both teams played a trivia game, which helped them continue to get to know each other. Each spin of the wheel revealed information, which had to be matched to the correct rep.

Finally, throughout the week reps were given time off the phone to work together on fun craft projects like making photo frames for their desks.

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Survivor

  By Celebration Stories and Ideas, Host Games and Competitions

At Manchester Tank’s corporate headquarters the entire staff participated in a Customer Service Week activity based on the popular television series Survivor.

Shelia Lindsay, who organized the week, describes it as their “most successful celebration.” Here’s why:

On Monday morning each employee received a bandanna, which indicated which of three interdepartmental “tribes” they belonged to. Team captains were assigned when three vice presidents drew “tiki” cups from a box.

Throughout the week, the tribes competed in team building activities. Points were awarded for successfully completing the challenges and for each of the following:

  • Most original tribe name
  • Most team spirit
  • Most participation
  • Best mascot, and more.

Tribes could also lose points. For example, a team member not wearing their bandanna cost the tribe one point, and being late to a tribal council meant the loss of 10 points.

A typical team building challenge was made up of several tasks, each of which had to be completed by a single team member. This might include:

  • One task that required strength
  • One task that required agility
  • One task that required dexterity
  • The remaining tasks were trivia questions in the categories of history, geography, entertainment, general knowledge, and sports.

On Friday, the tribes assembled for a final “tribal meeting.” Each member was asked to say something they had learned about another tribe member.

Shelia reports that, “considering we have worked together for years, it was very eye opening to hear comments like, ‘I didn’t know she was so dedicated, creative, smart, knew so much about our customers, our products, has a great sense of humor, has great team building skills, and so forth.’”

Additional popular game show activities include Fear Factor, Amazing Race, Jeopardy!, and Cash Cab.

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T-Shirt Swap

  By Celebration Stories and Ideas, Connect with Community

Many organizations involve their external customers in their Customer Service Week activities. After all, it’s the perfect time to thank customers for their business and to demonstrate your organization’s commitment to customer satisfaction.

Two organizations found creative ways to involve and thank their customers. The team at Sperian held a t-shirt swap in which Sperian reps and their customers exchanged t-shirts.

Here’s how it worked. For several weeks leading up to Customer Service Week, key customers were asked to provide one or more of their logo t-shirts. In exchange, Sperian provided an equal number of their logo t-shirts along with some special treats and a photo of the service team wearing their customers’ shirts.

The activity was a huge success and a great way for reps and customers to show they’re all on the same team.

Meanwhile, folks at The Cincinnati Insurance Companies were also involving their customers in their celebration.

During Customer Service Week, every fifth caller to the help desk received a coffee mug along with a card signed by the analyst who had handled his or her call.

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Table Tennis Tournament Builds Team Spirit and Raises Funds

  By Celebration Stories and Ideas, Connect with Community

Demag, A Terex Brand has celebrated Customer Service Week since 2001 and every year we feature their activities, which combine successful elements from the past with new additions.

One recent addition was the Terex Table Tennis Tournament. This fun, teambuilding event also had a second purpose. It raised funds for SupportOurTroops.org, which provides care packages to troops overseas.

All employees were encouraged to participate and funds were raised through a $10 entry fee. Senior management agreed to match all fees, so the group was able to donate $820 to this worthy cause.

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Take a World Tour

  By Celebration Stories and Ideas, Focus on Fun

The team at Masterbrand Cabinets celebrated Customer Service Week with a trip around the world. Well, okay they really did it all without ever leaving home. But what a trip it was …

The week began with associates traveling to the MBCI (Masterbrand Cabinets, Inc.) Airport where they were greeted by supervisors who handed out passports, itineraries, and snacks for the journey.

Each day, associates returned to the airport where they boarded a “Unite All Airlines” flight to their destination. They received a goodie bag with items for their trip, enjoyed a lunch of regional specialties, and played travel and location themed games. Here are the details:

  • Monday — Flight to Mexico. Each associate received a goodie bag containing a stress relief ball, Mexican jumping beans, and candy. Lunch included tacos, chips, and salsa. And the games included pin the flag on Mexico, ring toss in which rings were tossed onto a cactus, a memory game in which associates were shown travel-sized items for 15 seconds and asked to recall as many items as possible.
  • Tuesday — Flight to Hawaii. As associates arrived at the airport, they were greeted with a traditional Hawaiian lei and a goodie bag filled with candy, sea shells, and a bottle of bubbles. Lunch featured Hawaiian pork sandwiches. And the games included pin the flag on Hawaii, a timed hula hoop contest, and a golf putting challenge.
  • Wednesday — Flight to China. At the airport, associates received Chinese take-out boxes filled with goodies such as chop sticks, a compass, and candy. Lunch included egg rolls and various lo mein dishes. And the games featured ping-pong, a suitcase packing game, and a timed game that involved putting various objects into a take-out container box using chopsticks.
  • Thursday — Flight to France. Each associate received candy and a stress-relief toy for the journey. They enjoyed a lunch of croissant sandwiches and non-alcoholic Champaign punch. The day’s games included a French history quiz, pin the flag on France, and a painting contest.
  • Friday — Flight to New York. To wrap up the week, associates visited the Big Apple. At the airport they received a top hat filled with candy and a stress-relief ball shaped like an apple. The day’s meal included New York-style pizza and cheese cake. Games of tacky tourist, pin the flag on New York, and an adaptation of the television show Cash Cab rounded out the celebration.
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Tasty Treats with a Message

  By Celebration Stories and Ideas, Focus on Fun

On the final day of Customer Service Week, everyone on the service team at Northwestern Mutual was invited to bring in a treat to share. But rather than simply put treats on a table, each person was asked to give his or her contribution an appropriate customer service-related name. So the table was filled with:

  • Courteous cupcakes
  • Loyal lemon bread
  • Added-value apple bread
  • Dedicated donuts
  • Kan-do Korean coleslaw, and
  • Customer satisfied strawberries.
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Teams Focus on Core Values

  By Celebration Stories and Ideas, Build Stronger Teams

The team at AliMed celebrated Customer Service Week 2012 with an Olympic theme that focused on fun and some powerful messages.

To begin, the entire department was divided into five cross-functional groups. Each group represented an Olympic ring and a core attribute of great customer service.

Each group created materials and activities to share their attribute with the entire team. They used word searches, crosswords, tip sheets in the form of bookmarks, and more. Each day, a different attribute was celebrated:

Monday — Red — Positivity
Tuesday — Black — Empathy
Wednesday — Blue — Integrity
Thursday — Yellow — Communication
Friday — Green — Problem Solving

In addition to the color days, there were daily activities including an awards ceremony for reps with Olympic-related categories such as the AliMed Sharp Shooter, the person who has “the quickest trigger finger on the phone and is always on target.”

Throughout the week, the Olympic Medal Leader Board showed each team’s medal count. Winning teams received raffle tickets, and prizes were awarded at the end of the week.

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Theme Photos Create Memories

  By Celebration Stories and Ideas, Build Stronger Teams

Each year, the team at Health Plan of the Upper Ohio Valley finds an opportunity to take individual and group photos during Customer Service Week.

The 2009 celebration included a “Night at the Oscars” party with dinner, goodie bags and more. The paparazzi were on hand to photograph each rep as she walked down the red carpet. Because there is only one man in the department, he individually escorted each woman and posed for a photo.

The following year, the team celebrated with a holiday theme and the lone male rep dressed as the Easter Bunny. He posed for photos with each rep and distributed plastic eggs filled with surprises after each photo was snapped.

The photos are wonderful momentos of the celebration and are sure to bring a smile for years to come.

If you don’t have an opportunity to take team photos, consider distributing disposable cameras so that you are sure to capture the fun.

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