WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif., Dec. 13 /PRNewswire/ -- PEMCO Insurance has been recognized for call center operation customer satisfaction excellence for a second time under the J.D. Power and Associates Certified Call Center Program(SM). This distinction acknowledges a strong commitment from PEMCO's call center operations to provide an outstanding customer service experience.
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PEMCO Insurance's call center in Seattle handles more than 772,700 telephone, e-mail and fax interactions with customers each year. To become certified, the call center operations successfully passed a detailed audit of their recruiting, training, employee incentives, management roles and responsibilities, and quality assurance capabilities. As part of its evaluation, J.D. Power and Associates conducted a random survey of PEMCO customers who recently contacted its call centers.
"This recertification demonstrates PEMCO's strong commitment to providing customers with a consistent, positive experience with its call center," said Jonathan Brookner, director of the telecommunications practice at J.D. Power and Associates. "In particular, PEMCO's dedication to outstanding customer service is most evident in the courtesy and concern their representatives give callers, which is where the company scores considerably well."
For certification status, a call center must also perform within the top 20 percent of customer service, which is based on benchmarks established in J.D. Power and Associates' cross-industry customer satisfaction research. The criteria used include evaluation of: courtesy; knowledge; concern for the customer; usefulness of the information provided; convenience of operating hours; ease of reaching a representative; and timely resolution.
"We're proud that we increased our score since last year," said Steve Miller, vice president and chief operating officer at PEMCO Insurance. "It affirms our belief that it's our people who make a difference and give us our competitive advantage. They earned this certification. At the same time, we can never get complacent -- we must continue to invest in people, tools, and processes to go beyond exceeding our customers' expectations. We need to delight them."
The Call Center Certification Program was launched by J.D. Power and Associates in 2004 to evaluate overall customer satisfaction with call centers and to help call centers in various industries increase their efficiency and effectiveness by establishing best practices for handling service calls.
There are more than 75,000 call centers in North America and an estimated 125,000 worldwide that help customers with product and service questions across a multitude of industries, ranging from credit cards, financial services, investment services, utilities, service warranty and insurance to telecommunications, healthcare and office products.
About J.D. Power and Associates
Headquartered in Westlake Village, Calif., J.D. Power and Associates is an ISO 9001-registered global marketing information services firm operating in key business sectors including market research, forecasting, consulting, training and customer satisfaction. The firm's quality and satisfaction measurements are based on responses from millions of consumers annually. J.D. Power and Associates is a business unit of The McGraw-Hill Companies.
About The McGraw-Hill Companies
Founded in 1888, The McGraw-Hill Companies is a leading global information services provider meeting worldwide needs in the financial services, education and business information markets through leading brands including Standard & Poor's, McGraw-Hill Education, BusinessWeek and J.D. Power and Associates. The Corporation has more than 280 offices in 40 countries. Sales in 2005 were $6.0 billion. Additional information is available at http://www.mcgraw-hill.com/.
Media Relations Contacts:
John Tews Jeff Perlman
J.D. Power and Associates J.D. Power and Associates
Troy, Mich. Westlake Village, Calif.
(248) 312-4119 (805) 418-8976
No advertising or other promotional use can be made of the information in this release without the express prior written consent of J.D. Power and Associates. http://www.jdpower.com/corporate
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