Company Accolades

Global Experience Specialists recognized for customer service experience

Company gains recogition from J.D. Power and Associates for second consecutive year

WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif. — Global Experience Specialists has been recognized for call center operation customer satisfaction excellence under the J.D. Power and Associates Call Center Certification Program.

The Call Center Certification Program distinction acknowledges a strong commitment by the GES National Servicenter call center operation to provide “An Outstanding Customer Service Experience.”

To become certified, GES National Servicenter call center operation successfully passed a detailed audit of its recruiting, training, employee incentives, quality assurance capabilities, and management roles and responsibilities. As part of its evaluation, J.D. Power and Associates conducted a random survey of GES customers who recently contacted its call center, located in Las Vegas.

“In the trade show management business where there are so many moving parts to coordinate and multiple deadlines to meet, customers contacting the GES National Servicenter are in need of the right business-critical information quickly,” said Mark Miller, senior director of certifications and solutions at J.D. Power and Associates. “While these dynamics have the potential to create a very stressful service environment, GES customers report that they were pleased with the courtesy shown by the customer service representatives.”

For certification status, a call center must also perform within the top 20 percent of customer service scores, which are based on benchmarks established in J.D. Power and Associates’ cross-industry customer satisfaction research. The evaluation criteria include courtesy; knowledge; concern for the customer; usefulness of the information provided; convenience of operating hours; ease of reaching a representative; and timely resolution.

“GES is proud to be among a select group of companies recognized for outstanding customer service,” said John Jastrem, GES president. “Earning certification by J.D. Power and Associates is a detailed process and a great honor. Above all, it’s an indication of the investment we have made in the GES National Servicenter and our commitment to a positive customer experience.”

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 warranties and insurance to telecommunications, healthcare and office products.

Headquartered in Westlake Village, Calif., J.D. Power and Associates is a global marketing information services company operating in key business sectors including market research, forecasting, performance improvement, Web intelligence and customer satisfaction. The company’s quality and satisfaction measurements are based on responses from millions of consumers annually. For more information on car reviews and ratings; car insurance; health insurance; cell phone ratings; and more, J.D. Power and Associates is a business unit of The McGraw-Hill Companies.

Founded in 1888, The McGraw-Hill Companies (NYSE: MHP) is a leading global information services provider meeting worldwide needs in the financial services, education and business information markets through leading brands such as Standard & Poor’s, McGraw-Hill Education, Platts, Capital IQ, J.D. Power and Associates, McGraw-Hill Construction and Aviation Week. The Corporation has more than 280 offices in 40 countries. Sales in 2008 were $6.4 billion.