AB&C Group’s “Relationship” Call Centers Earn Certified Center of Excellence Designation from BenchmarkPortal, in conjunction with the Center for Customer-Driven Quality at Purdue University

Leading Provider of Outsourced Direct Response Processing Services is First in Its Industry to Achieve Top Professional Designation[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="288" caption="AB&C Groups"][/caption] August 7, 2003, McLean, VA - The AB&C Group, one of the nation’s largest direct response processing and fulfillment companies, has earned the prestigious Center of Excellence Certification for its “Relationship” Call Centers from BenchmarkPortal and the Center for Customer-Driven Quality, based at Purdue University. AB&C is the first to achieve this designation among providers of outsourced call center solutions and one of only four call center operations in the U.S. to earn certification. The Center of Excellence certification is based on best-practice metrics drawn from the world’s largest database of call center performance information. Centers that attain certification do so on the basis of objective, quantitative data that are audited and validated by researchers from BenchmarkPortal and the Purdue database. According to Dr. Jon Anton of the Center for Customer-Driven Quality, the AB&C Group’s certification recognizes their achievement in providing world class service. “This certification attests to the fact that the AB&C Group’s call center managers have successfully balanced effectiveness and efficiency in their operations,” said Dr. Anton. “By optimizing their ability to satisfy customers and their cost components, they exemplify best practices in the outsourced call center sector.” “Delivering the highest quality service to our Clients and their Customers, Members, and Donors has been a hallmark of AB&C since the company was founded more than 31 years ago,” commented R. Michael O’Hara, Chairman and CEO. “We are extremely proud that our commitment to service excellence has earned us this distinguished designation from the nation’s most respected independent call center assessment organization. “Even more important is what this designation should mean to our current and future Clients,” O’Hara continued. “They can be confident that AB&C provides the kind of best-in-class service that builds lifelong Customer, Member, and Donor relationships.” The AB&C Group’s “Relationship” Call Centers handle millions of calls on behalf of many of America’s best known catalog companies, associations, and nonprofit organizations. AB&C’s certification is a result of the quality of its interactions with callers and the company’s ability to provide such a superior standard of service cost effectively. Service levels, abandon rates, schedule adherence, occupancy and no blocked calls were among the metrics measured in the certification process. “Benchmark Portal was particularly impressed with AB&C’s passion for excellence and commitment to the benchmarking process,” commented Dru Phelps, BenchmarkPortal’s Vice President for Benchmarking Certification, who worked closely with AB&C to train the audit team and validate the center’s metrics. “AB&C now will participate in ongoing monitoring for continuing certification.” About BenchmarkPortal BenchmarkPortal is the custodian of the Center for Customer-Driven Quality database of contact center metrics, the largest in the world, which it manages under agreement with Purdue University. It provides reports, products, and services for contact centers in the areas of operational metrics, customer satisfaction measurement, and agent satisfaction measurement. It also provides call center training courses and is a leading publisher of call center books, through its Anton Press division. Visit the company's web site at www.benchmarkportal.com For additional information contact: Michael Feinberg 3130 Skyway Drive, Suite 702 Santa Maria, CA 93455-1817 (805) 614-0123 MichaelFeinberg@BenchmarkPortal.com About the AB&C Group The AB&C Group has been serving the direct marketing industry for over 31 years. Headquartered in McLean, Virginia, the company processes millions of responses and orders each year for leading B2B/B2C companies, fundraisers, and associations. Among the company’s Clients are Doctors’ Preferred, The Nature Conservancy, U.S. Golf Association, Bra Smyth, U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, National Geographic Society, National Rifle Association, and many other prominent organizations. In addition to its “Relationship” Call Centers, AB&C’s services include order management, contribution and membership processing, Donor edit and “comment” mail handling, product and premium fulfillment, e-commerce fulfillment and customer service, inventory management, printing, and mailing. AB&C’s fulfillment and customer service facilities are in Charles Town, West Virginia, and Orange and Winchester, Virginia. For more information about the AB&C Group visit the company’s new web site at www.abcgroup.com For additional information contact: Steve Gregg AB&C Group (888) ABC-1972 steveg@abcgroup.com Jim Gianfagna Gianfagna Marketing, Inc. (440) 808-4700 jim@gianfagnamarketing.com