Celebration Stories and Ideas

A new Customer Service Week activity at Martin Group is bound to become an annual favorite. Involving reps, other departments and a creative expression of the company’s commitment to service, it’s just what Customer Service Week is all about.

To share their service spirit with the entire company, the Customer Care Support Team created a chair parade during Customer Service Week.

The group was randomly divided into teams of four. The teams were asked to create an Office Chair Float, which represented their commitment to excellent customer service.

A total of seven floats joined the parade traveling through the building tossing candy, Mardi Gras style, to laughing spectators who lined the hallways.

Carolyn Reynolds describes her celebration as, “Customer Service Week on a dime.” But there was no skimping when it came to planning a week full of activities, beautiful decorations, and thoughtful gifts.

And best of all, it provided the Metro Government of Nashville and Davidson County Information Technology Services Technical Support Center “a much needed opportunity to thank our internal and external customers, and, for the department leaders to recognize our Service Desk Analysts for the terrific job they do.”

Highlights of the week included:

• Team members kicked off the week by signing the Customer Service Week pledge and recommitting themselves to their service mission.
• Throughout the week staff acknowledged the great service, follow-up, phone etiquette, and teamwork of their colleagues with Caught in the Act Cards.
• On game day, there was something for everyone as team members participated in basketball, pool, Mad Gab, and checkers tournaments throughout the day.
• A stress-relief break, featured ice cream sundaes and stress-relief goodie bags.
• Throughout the week, coins were awarded both for participation and for winning events. These coins were very important because the team member with the most coins received a grand prize and all others were entered in a prize drawing. The order of the draw was based on the number of coins awarded.

The service team at United Stationers Supply Co. has been celebrating Customer Service Week for several years. This year’s event featured the return of their popular prize wheel, known as the Wheel O‘ Fun, plus many creative new ideas.

Each morning members of the leadership team greeted associates at the door. Theme days, puzzles and activities, and a special breakfast or lunch each day rounded out the week.

But the activity that really caught our attention was called “Pimp Your Ride.” The activity is loosely based on the TV program, “Pimp my Ride.” In each episode a dilapidated car is restored and customized in an over the top effort to reflect the owner’s personality and interests.

In this office edition, associates were asked to customize their own rides — otherwise known as their desk chairs. It was all part of the “awesome week” at United Stationers Supply Co.

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.

The team at Black & Decker/End User Services celebrated the company’s long tradition of service excellence by building their celebration around a different decade each day.

The service staff dressed in appropriate clothing, and the food, activities, music, and prizes were all from that decade. For example, highlights of Monday’s 1950s celebration included:

• Starting the day with Dunkin’ Donuts (introduced in 1950).
• Enjoying lunch in a classic soda shop, actually a fully decorated meeting room. The menu included hot dogs, Ruffles potato chips (1958), and ice cream sodas.
• Playing decade appropriate games such as throwing a Frisbee (1958) into a hula hoop (1958) to win silly putty (1950), Bazooka Bubble Gum (1953), and more.

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.