Focus on Fun

Throughout Customer Service Week, the team at the Health Plan of the Upper Ohio Valley enjoyed games, movies, popcorn, prizes, and more. But the one event that really brought out everyone’s creativity was a decorating contest with a holiday theme.

Teams of reps decorated their cubicles for Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, and other holidays. Some even dressed in costume to compliment the theme.

One terrific example is the Christmas elves. Partitions were wrapped like gifts and the team dressed as Santa’s elves. They even created a set of rules for service elves:

• Have good elf-esteem
• Have good elf-confidence
• Have good elf-respect
• Don’t be elf-ish
• Don’t be elf-centered

You’ve seen the Cake Challenges on TV — Master bakers pitted against each other to create the most beautiful and over-the-top creations.

So when you host a cake and coffee break, or need an fresh idea for a team challenge, why not think cake?

For a cake decorating contest at CBK Mountain Adventures, the staff was divided into teams of two. Each team received a sheet cake, and an assortment of frostings. The challenged was to create a theme cake for the week.

At Princeton Watches, teams of cake decorators were asked to create cakes, which answered the question “What is Customer Service?”

And at Axis New England the cake is the highlight of the celebration, with a professional baker creating a masterpiece each year.

The team at Federated Investors celebrated Customer Service Week with a five-day cruise.

The week got underway with a kick off “Bon Voyage Breakfast.” The Sansom Auditorium was transformed into the cruise ship’s Lido Deck. Breakfast was served and the head of sales discussed the importance of excellent customer service.

Throughout the week daily events and activities supported the cruise theme. Staff members dressed in resort casual, visited popular ports of call such as the popcorn bar, had their photos taken with the captain, and even made ship-to-shore deliveries of cakes to business units that support the service team.

To view the complete itinerary for the five-day cruise click below. Don’t miss all of the clever touches such as the ship’s name, welcome from the hospitality team, and website set up just for this event.

The team at HelpMeChoose.com.au in Melbourne, Australia hosted a Customer Service Week celebration that was packed with fun activities. And with careful planning and forethought, the activities also included many important lessons on teamwork, service excellence, communication skills, and more.

• Kick-off brunch. The week started with a kick-off brunch, which was attended by the company CEO. It was also the time for reps to form teams for group activities. To help everyone in the service center get to know each other, they were randomly assigned to teams.To do this, each beverage glass had a different colored ribbon tied around the stem. When reps grabbed a glass, they were randomly choosing their team. Each rep then received a matching lanyard and name tag to help everyone get acquainted.
• Training day. The national training and development manager for HelpMeChoose.com.au traveled roughly 900 miles to give a presentation on Customer Service Excellence. This was also a dress up day, so a fire fighter, waitress, and others were in attendance.
• Amazing race. Next came a fun twist on the television program Amazing Race. Local shops got involved handing out clues and acting as sites for different activities. Teams took photographs, or in this case “mug shots,” outside the police station, photographed themselves dancing like chickens outside a popular lunch spot, and more.
• Office Olympics.The underground garage was transformed for the team’s Office Olympics. Chair races are always popular activities but the team added a vivid example of the importance of accurate communication. One team member pushed the office chair while blindfolded. Another team member sat in the chair guiding the driver through an obstacle course.
• Closing ceremony. Finally, Friday brought a barbecue lunch and closing ceremony. The highlight of the event was a presentation on the results of the companies first annual customer satisfaction survey.

Many Customer Service Week celebrations tie-in with seasonal events such as the fall harvest, Halloween, or Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

In Winston-Salem, NC, the celebration at Aon Hewitt tied-in with the local county fair, which takes place at the same time.

The festive mood began as reps arrived on Monday morning and were greeted by their managers with music, balloons, and raffle tickets. The winner of the raffle drawing received tickets to the Dixie Classic Fair.

The fair theme continued each afternoon as managers distributed snacks including candy apples, cotton candy, and snow cones. And a classic hot dog lunch, complete with Customer Service Week cake, wrapped up the week.

Games and activities also had a fair theme. Reps tried their hands at ring toss, corn toss, a duck pond, and Wii games. There was also a little good-natured competition between Aon Hewitt service centers in different parts of the country, to see who could collect the most toys for donation to local children’s centers.

At Advanced Drainage Systems, the 19 person service department celebrated with a carnival theme.

Team members dressed as a snake charmer, tightrope walker, ring master, and more. They celebrated with traditional carnival foods and games. But rather than awarding prizes for each game, the winners earned points. Then on the final day of the celebration everyone gathered to “spend” their points selecting their prizes.

Pioneer Investments took three classic Customer Service Week activities and added some contemporary twists.

You’re sure to want to save these great ideas for your next celebration.

• Morph Contest. The popular matching contest in which participants must match a baby photo, smile, or pet with its owner was updated to the Morph Contest. Reps were photographed and then every two photos was morphed into one. The photos were distributed via email and everyone tried to guess which two people made up each photo.
• Selfie Scavenger Hunt. The traditional scavenger hunt, in which teams or individuals travel through the organization following clues and collecting items, was updated to a Selfie Scavenger Hunt. As each item was found, a selfie was snapped and later shared with the group.
• Power Point Compliments Board. No more poster board for this team, the classic compliments board was re-imagined as a PowerPoint presentation that was played during a staff meeting.

The Customer Service Week celebration at CMA CGM (America) combined fun and education in an ambitious five full days of festivities.

The week started with a Star Wars theme. When employees arrived at work, they were transported to the future. The elevator whisked them skyward to the sounds of a spaceship lifting off. They were also accompanied by an actor dressed as Chewbacca, the wookie warrior. The building was filled with space ship decor and the lunchroom was converted to the raucous Star Wars Cantina.

The company’s out of this world celebration also included many down to earth activities that would make a wonderful addition to virtually any Customer Service Week event.

• Dress Up. A daily theme gave everyone the opportunity to dress up and take photos. “Selfie-stations” were located on each floor and a photo booth was in the lobby.
• Learn. Guided tours gave employees an opportunity to visit many departments and learn about the work of all 600 plus employees at the company’s headquarters. Lunch and learn events featured speakers from within the company and outside guests.
• Play. Teams from many departments participated in daily rounds of Family Feud. Those who did not play were encouraged to support their teams. In addition there were daily opportunities to play Taboo and Name that Tune, and to participate in relay races. All winners received tickets for a prize drawing.