We're Celebrating our third success
Earlier this month we were delighted to welcome the Institute of Customer Service (ICS) into our Haywards Heath office to receive our THIRD ServiceMark award. Yes, you read that right, THREE. What an achievement, especially since fewer than 20% of ICS members are granted this prize! The brand-new plaque looks super impressive in our trophy cabinet.
The honour’s so important. Including assessments based on internal and external surveys, it represents not only what customers say about us but also what colleagues say. We’re so grateful our commitment to customer service and upholding high standards has been recognised.
The ICS said our submission was one of the best they’d seen, commenting:
“This is the third time 1st Central’s achieved a ServiceMark accreditation and it was easy to see why. The company’s unwavering commitment to exceptional customer service, combined with their proactive approach to addressing customer needs and concerns, sets them apart.”
We’ve always insisted on awesome teamwork at First Central, after all one of the values that drives us is ’collaboration’, and we’re all about excellence, continuous improvement and setting ourselves challenging goals. These make a huge difference to our customers and to our people. So, what is the Institute of Customer Service and why does it fit so well with our own principles?
Established in 1996, the independent, not-for-profit membership body drives progress towards a world where excellent customer service is demanded and delivered. The ICS knows great service makes a positive impact on organisational performance and the wider economy. With around 400 organisational members and many individual members, the London-based group operates across all sectors. It awards its ServiceMark accreditation for three years based on surveys inside and outside a company and on an independent assessment. It’s pretty thorough… And, it’s remarkable we’ve held onto the award for nine years straight. We celebrated our win with cakes for all; who doesn't love a cheeky cupcake with their cuppa?
Sally Clarke, our Customer Director, had this to say:
"Each one of us has an impact on the experience our customers have, whether you're designing great products, speaking with customers directly, providing assurance around our controls and regulatory compliance, delivering new capabilities or everything in between!”
We're always working hard to make the way we do things better, providing support for our customers in ways they value most. We never stand still and our determined approach is in our DNA. Here’s hoping it’ll see us deserve the ServiceMark award for a fourth time when the accreditation returns in three years…
Interested to find out more about the accreditation and the Institute of Customer Service? Head over to their website and have a look around.
