October 5, 2022
This week, corporates and most business owners are going the extra mile to appreciate their customers and staff as the world celebrates customer service week. Customers have been treated to goodies and heartwarming messages of how companies are grateful that they are their customers. What a wonderful time to be a customer!
However, as I reflected on the celebrations that happen annually in the first week of October, I went back to check the origin of Customer Service Week, and why corporates and businesses would only choose one week out of a whole year, to celebrate their customers. According to the official site for National Customer Service Week, CS Week was established by the International Customer Service Association in 1984 and proclaimed a national event by the U.S. Congress in 1992. The two main objectives of the week are to recognize the work customer service professionals do throughout the year and to inform their customers, industry, and partners about the importance of customer service in running their business. How many organizations, as they celebrate this week, considered the first objective, and celebrated their customer service staff even as they appreciated the customers? Secondly, which organizations have demonstrated with evidence, that customer service is at the center of running their business? The theme of this year’s customer service week is sustaining customer inclusion and therefore, I will focus on the second objective.