Microsoft Customer Central Receives Quality Performance Recognition

Microsoft Customer Central's three US contact centers were awarded the Center for Customer-Driven Quality's certification as a Center of Excellence.[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="288" caption="Microsoft customer central"][/caption] SEATTLE-September 2003-Microsoft Customer Central's three US contact centers were awarded the Center for Customer-Driven Quality's certification as a Center of Excellence last September, after a rigorous two-day examination based on operational efficiency and effectiveness using objective, quantitative data. The assessment was led by Dr. Jon Anton, one of the most well-known architects of call center design, who observed Customer Central's Tuna Fish Sandwich philosophy as an operational strength and industry best practice. This philosophy is the practice of operating with a "whatever it takes" attitude in serving customers; if the customer asks for a tuna fish sandwich, they get it. About Microsoft Customer Central: Microsoft Customer Central is a US based operation that handles millions of contacts annually providing inbound customer services, pre-sales and tier-one support for Microsoft products from multiple global locations. Services are provided to customers 24 hours a day and 7 days a week to all customer and partner segments via all media types. Operational success is measured against targets benchmarked as representative of a high-performance organization with key focus placed on customer satisfaction, accuracy, first-contact resolution results and cost. Business improvements for the organization have also been furthered through the recent implementation of a COPC-2000 & ISO 9001:2000 certified Quality Management Framework (QMF), focused on maintaining and continually enhancing the customer experience. The success of the QMF is highlighted as one more step in the journey to be recognized as a world class customer service provider. One of Customer Central's continued organizational strengths, as identified by both internal and external assessors, has been a strong customer focus as demonstrated by staff in accordance with their Mission Statement; Build Customer Trust and Value by Providing a Quality Experience the First Time, Every Time. For more information contact: Annie Herriman at (425) 704-5775 or e-mail annieher@microsoft.com About BenchmarkPortal: BenchmarkPortal collects and warehouses the world's largest database of performance metrics for customer contact and support centers. This unique data warehouse was originated by Dr. Jon Anton at Purdue University's Center for Customer-Driven Quality in 1995 and is the recognized source for best practice standards in all the major industry segments, including banking, consumer electronics, and telecommunications. Our Web site, BenchmarkPortal.com, and Dr. Jon Anton's methodology were selected for the Hot Pick Award in 2000. Our reports provide the information that enables call center professionals to make intelligent, fact-based management decisions by comparing their call center performance to other similar call centers. Under the leadership of Dr. Anton, the growing team of BenchmarkPortal experts also conducts leading-edge research, which is published in numerous trade publications as well as in books (BenchmarkPortal's Anton Press Division has 22 CRM-oriented books in print). The Company also assists managers through on-site assessments and innovative solutions in the areas of satisfaction measurement and employee training. BenchmarkPortal manages the AT&T College of Call Center Excellence, a premiere curriculum for training of call center personnel of all levels. For additional information: Bruce Belfiore BruceBelfiore@BenchmarkPortal.com