There is no denying that since the pandemic plagued our country and the whole world, the way we conduct business and transact abruptly changed, and this is true across all industries.
But despite the challenges, the call to continue to provide quality products and services should not be undermined given the reality that great products or services keep customers happy and interested. Hence, excellent after-sales service that keeps them loyal. But with the lockdown restrictions of the past year and our interactions reduced to swipes, likes, emojis and digital gestures, the challenge for businesses was how to keep their customers satisfied and engaged despite the lack of physical interactions.
This is what makes the Reader’s Digest Quality Service Awards even more special this year, as it recognizes the businesses that achieved customer service excellence as we transition to the new normal.
While it has been a time of extreme difficulty for customer service – with upheavals of long-standing ways of doing business – the businesses listed in the Quality Service Awards rallied. Each day during difficult and uncertain times, they remained savvy, clever and calm in their approach to customers, so much so that the importance of kindness and understanding once again became paramount.
Research and Recognition
Great service deserves to be recognized in the Philippines and for the second year, Reader’s Digest honors them in the Quality Service Awards.
From the couriers and delivery people who carefully handled the products you ordered online, the bank tellers, store staff and customer support representatives who patiently assisted you with your inquiries, to the other non-medical frontliners, and even the company directors who gave their staff the leeway to attend to their families and work from home, we all encountered people who made those difficult times a little easier to bear.
The Quality Service Awards survey set out to gauge which companies are succeeding at this, and better still, setting new benchmarks in personalization and customer service excellence. Above all, these awards recognize how customer service can be delivered and how people should be treated.
“While the pandemic has shifted and will continue to influence the standard markers of business success, customer service remains core among those success markers,” says Sheron White, Advertising and Retail Director, Reader’s Digest Asia Pacific.
“Being a Reader’s Digest 2021 Quality Service Award winner means that these businesses possess robust, caring and talented teams. Their management style also says much about that success. They share a valuable legacy and the community sees what great work they do, and appreciates it,” she added.
Among this year’s winners are: BDO, Citibank, Mercury Drug, Goodyear Tires, Ideal Vision, SM Malls, Lalamove and SunLife.
Rewarding Excellent Service
The Quality Service Awards are 100% voted by Filipino consumers and designed to reward companies that provide outstanding service to their customers. The range of service providers is varied, from sectors as diverse as pharmacies/drug stores, real estate, optical shops and water companies.
In partnership with leading research company Catalyst Research, 1700 individuals from the Philippines were randomly surveyed to find out their views on which companies and businesses have the best customer service in the country.
Respondents were asked to nominate service providers in 30 categories across a broad range of industries. To qualify to vote in a category, voters had to have used a service provider from that industry recently.
Survey respondents were asked to rank their experience of the selected companies according to these key questions:
PERSONALISATION: Was an individual customer experience provided?
UNDERSTANDING: Was a genuine insight into the customer’s needs demonstrated?
SIMPLICITY: Was dealing with the company quickly and easy?
RELIABILITY: Was a consistently high-quality service delivered?
SATISFACTION: Was the customer’s expectation met or, even better, exceeded?
Winners were then determined by comparing the rating of each service provider within a category received. To calculate each company’s Quality Service Score (QSS), the average score of the five key pillars was determined, and then multiplied by 10 to obtain a metric score out of 100.
The highest-rated company in each category has been awarded the status of Gold Standard Winner, with the second-highest rated company awarded the status of Silver Standard Winner. This prestigious award recognizes companies that truly understand consumers’ needs.
You can watch the 2021 QSA virtual awards at https://www.qualityserviceawards.asia/virtual-awards/
