Customer Service Week Resources

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Cake Decorating Highlights Communication Skills

  By Celebration Stories and Ideas, Host Games and Competitions

The team at the CBK celebrated Customer Service Week with a different activity each day. This included a creative dress-up day and a skill-building cake-decorating contest.

To kick-off the week reps were asked to dress as what they wanted to be when they grew up. You can just imagine a call center filled with ballerinas and princesses, firefighters and football players.

Next the team competed in a cake-decorating contest. The staff was divided into teams of two. Each team received a sheet cake, and an assortment of frostings. They were challenged to create a theme cake for the week.

More than just a decorating contest, this was also a communication building exercise. After the reps briefly discussed how to decorate their cakes, one rep left the room while the other worked. After several minutes the reps switched places. It was up to the second rep to complete the cake based only on their conversation and the work that had already been done.

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Cake Decorating, Nail it or Fail it!

  By Activities, Team Building

Description

If your group loved the Netflix series Nailed It!, they will love this variation on the classic Customer Service Week Cake Decorating activity.

As in the TV show, individuals or teams will work to recreate an elaborately decorated cake or cupcakes.

Materials

Each team will need a selection of items based on the specific design.
Prizes for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners
CSW Scratch Off Cards for all participants

Directions

Prepare a workspace and a set of materials for each team. Or if you can’t have all teams working at the same time, have them rotate through the work area.

Divide your group into teams of three to five people.

When your teams are assembled, explain that they will be decorating their cakes or cupcakes to mirror the sample provided. This is the “Nail It or Fail It” challenge from the TV show.

Provide the time frame for the project based on the complexity of the design. Thirty minutes should be ample for most challenges.

When time is up, invite the group to view all of the cakes. Announce the first, second, and third place winners or allow the group to vote for their favorites or invite your own team of celebrity judges to make the call.

Then dig in. Serve up slices of cake and coffee for a special break.

Keep it going

With all that cake on hand, invite the individuals and teams you work with to enjoy a cake and coffee break.

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Camera Roll

  By Activities, Team Building

Description

Camera Roll is a fun new scavenger hunt, which is played with cell phones. Participants will search through their saved photos in order to find one that fits each prompt.

Materials

A list of prompts

A prize for the winner
CSW Scratch Off Cards for all participants

Directions

Have your group arrange their chairs in a circle or around a table. This activity works well for groups of five to 10 people.

Explain that the object of the game is to search your phone for a photo that matches the prompt. The first person to find an appropriate photo wins the round and holds up their phone for all to see. The person to win the most rounds, wins the game.


These fun prompts are likely to be on most rep’s phones:

  • Show me a picture of a birthday or other holiday
  • Show me a picture of a pet
  • Show me a picture of a child or grandchild
  • Show me a picture of your last vacation
  • Show me a picture of something delicious
  • Show me a picture of one of the people playing this game
  • Show me a picture of something that makes you smile
  • Show me a picture of the great outdoors
  • Show me a picture of a sporting event or concert
  • Show me a picture of something you considered buying

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CanStruction

  By Activities, Team Building

Description

This activity is based on the CanStruction activity at Kansas City Life. The goals of the activity were to encourage teamwork, have fun, and collect much needed food for a local food pantry. Click to see how Kansas City Life combined teambuilding and community service.

Materials

Each team is responsible for providing the canned goods for this activity. All materials are donated to a local food pantry when the activity is completed.
Prizes for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners
CSW Scratch Off Cards for all participants

Directions

First, choose a food pantry to support. Next, ask all team members to scour their kitchens for canned items to donate. The food pantry may have a list of most urgently needed items that you can request as well.

Next divide your group into teams of five to seven people. Then divide the donated cans so that each team has roughly the same number.

When the teams are assembled explain that they will have two days to create a sculpture made entirely from cans. Teams may trade cans, or bring in additional cans, but everything is donated at the end.

When the work is completed, invite the group to view all of the CanStructions. Announce the first, second, and third place winners or allow the group to vote for their favorites.

Discussion

As you view each CanStruction, ask the team to explain their work and the process they used to arrive at the design.

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CanStruction, Building for Charity

  By Celebration Stories and Ideas, Connect with Community

An amazing construction activity at Kansas City Life Insurance combines teambuilding and community service.

Customer Service Manager Kathy Elcock tells us that, “Each year, along with our fun and games, we try to incorporate some sort of community service to go along with our celebration. In past years we sent care packages to soldiers in the field and put together basic toiletry kits for disaster victims.”

This year the service team participated in a CanStruction event. During these events, sculptures are created entirely from canned goods, which are then donated to local food banks.

For Kansas City Life, the rules were simple and the results were extraordinary. Above are photos of the teams’ work which include a sculpture titled “Be the One to Stop Hunger,” a replica of the company’s office building, a sea turtle, and a cozy fireplace.

The guidelines for the event follow:

  • CanStruction is a design/build competition showcasing the talents of design and construction of our Customer Service and Claims professionals. Teams are given a total of 1 hour 30 minutes to defy expectations, logic and gravity as they build fantastic sculptures from cans of food and other non-perishable items.
  • During the Monday AM meeting we will divide you up into 4 teams. Each team will be assigned a 30 minute time slot on Monday to meet as a group to assign a contractor and develop a blueprint for your artwork. The construction of your design will take place on the 5th floor and each team will be provided with a 5 x 5 space for building and a sheet to cover your work in progress (NO SPYING!!!). You may not deface the food items or packaging in any way as they will be donated.
  • Your contractor will then be charged with bargaining with the contractors from the other 3 teams for the canned goods and non-perishable items already donated to determine what might be needed for your creation. You may also donate additional canned goods and perishable items throughout the week to compliment your design.
  • Tuesday through Friday each team will be assigned a 15 minute time slot to work on their project. You will need to consider whether your 15 minutes should be as a team, broken up into smaller groups or on an individual basis.
  • All construction must be completed by 12pm on Friday. Judging will take place around 2:30ish. Winning Team will be awarded prizes. Although, everyone is a winner because all canned goods and non-perishable items will be donated to a food pantry to help feed those less fortunate.

Charitable activities were also seen in penny wars, a clothing drive, and canned food drive.

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Carnys and a Snake Charmer

  By Celebration Stories and Ideas, Focus on Fun

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.

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Cash Cab

  By Celebration Stories and Ideas, Host Games and Competitions

Throughout Customer Service Week, reps at Kansas City Life Insurance Company, participated in an activity modeled on the Discovery Channel hit, Cash Cab.

On the program, unsuspecting New Yorkers hail a taxicab only to discover that they have entered a game show and can win cash for answering the driver’s questions correctly.

In the Kansas City Life version, reps were asked to report to the front door of the building at designated times throughout the day. Awaiting them was a manager’s car decorated with play money. After the reps piled in and the rules were explained, the car took off on laps around the parking lot. Reps responded to a range of questions receiving play money for correct answers. However, after three incorrect answers, the ride was abruptly over, reps exited the car, and walked back to the office.

The play money reps won could be used to buy raffle tickets for daily prize giveaways or to vote for the king and queen of service.

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

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Cat and Mouse (2 players)

  By Puzzles
Materials:One Cat and Mouse sheet for each team of two.

Scissors.

A prize or Scratch Off Card for each winner.
Notes:A new two-player game that involves strategy, planning, and a little luck. It’s a fun activity to have available in the breakroom or cafeteria during Customer Service Week. And it also makes an engaging weeklong competition.

To start, match everyone with an opponent. The winners from round one will move on to play each other in round two and so on until an overall winner is declared.
Puzzles/
Solutions:		Cat and Mouse sheets.

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Celebrate a Decade a Day

  By Celebration Stories and Ideas, Focus on Fun

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.
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Celebration Combines Fun and Education

  By Celebration Stories and Ideas, Focus on Fun

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.
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