For Sales and Information Call: 1-800-214-8929
The SOURCE for Contact Centers

Merrill Lynch Call Centers Earn Certification from Purdue University's BenchmarkPortal

Merrill Lynch’s Direct Client Services Call Centers in Hopewell, NJ and Jacksonville, FL recently were re-certified as Centers of Excellence by BenchmarkPortal, in conjunction with Purdue University’s Center for Customer-Driven Quality.

Santa Maria, CA (Nov. 17, 2004) - Merrill Lynch's Direct Client Services Call Centers in Hopewell, NJ and Jacksonville, FL recently were re-certified as Centers of Excellence by BenchmarkPortal, in conjunction with Purdue University's Center for Customer-Driven Quality. This certification is presented to an elite group of call centers that have clearly demonstrated key performance indicators that surpass rigorous standards of efficiency and operational effectiveness. "The Merrill Lynch customer service call centers have recently been re-certified as Purdue University Centers of Excellence.

Through proper planning and strong leadership, Merrill continues to offer world-class customer service by ensuring that inbound customer calls are handled quickly, accurately, and with a high degree of quality. By focusing on the people, the processes, and the technology of their call centers, Merrill has been able to once more achieve a highly efficient operation while also delivering the quality that their customers have come to expect", said Dr. Anton of BenchmarkPortal. "This certification places Merrill's performance in the top five percent of over 100,000 customer service call centers in the United States." Judy Nelson, First Vice President of Merrill Lynch Global Private Client Services, added: "In today's competitive environment, how we deliver service is what will differentiate Merrill Lynch in the marketplace.

Our team consistently works with the benchmarking industry and experts to validate our processes and effectiveness in exceeding client expectations. As always, the teamwork of our employees, management team and business partners has been and continues to be key in this achievement". The re-certification was awarded to Direct Client Services in August 2004 following a comprehensive benchmarking study and onsite visit from researchers within BenchmarkPortal. During this process, objective, quantitative data was audited and validated by the researchers. Direct Client Services' multi-site service operation handles over 80 million contacts annually for retail, 401(k), and Employee Stock Option Plans. The re-certification as a Center of Excellence clearly demonstrates that by remaining committed to achieving service excellence in the most cost-efficient ways possible, the Direct Client Services call centers have reached an optimized balance between efficiency and effectiveness, while focusing on increasing customer loyalty.

About BenchmarkPortal BenchmarkPortal is the custodian of the Purdue University Center for Customer-Driven Quality database of contact center metrics, the largest in the world. It provides reports, products and services for contact centers in the areas of operational metrics, customer satisfaction measurement and agent satisfaction measurement. BenchmarkPortal's Web site can be found at: www.BenchmarkPortal.com For additional information contact: Susan Hampton BenchmarkPortal, Inc. SusanHampton@BenchmarkPortal.com

Share with us...

News

* Email

Sign up for our newsletter and receive 10% Off your next store purchase!

"Becoming a Call Center of Excellence can be a game changer for businesses. Fighting to keep customers in today’s economy is paramount to most companies and the Center of Excellence distinction has helped drive us to that end result. Going through this process yearly continues to challenge us to improve processes and service levels. The detailed process that BenchmarkPortal provides in comparing our data with a large peer group is unparalleled. At the end, you have a clear roadmap of what is working well and what needs focus and attention for improvement. Because of this, we have been able to develop plans each year to drive better results and better customer experiences. This, coupled with a knowledgeable staff, helps us to close the gaps and continue to achieve excellence in every area. Every call center out there should be doing this benchmarking process; we are proof that it works."
Angela Ballantine, Director, Customer Care, ARAG GROUP

CallTallk Online Radio Show

Topic: Adding Sales to Your Customer Service Culture: How You Can Start Paying For Your Center in Three Months

Transitioning your call center from a typical “customer service” environment to a “sales” environment can be a challenging, however, in today’s competitive environment, it is critical to have everyone in your organization focused on upselling or cross selling products/services. My topic of adding sales to your customer service culture will provide you with strategies for making this transition and ensuring your call center is a revenue generator for your company. These strategies allowed our call center to begin to pay for our own operating expenses within three months, improved the morale of the employees and providing more opportunities for all center personnel.
Host: Bruce Belfiore, CEO, Dee Buell, Senior Consultant, BenchmarkPortal and Susan Wolski, TXU Energy
Date: Wed. June 12, 2013
10am PT/1pm ET