Looking back on Customer Service Week, I have to say our Spirit Team has done it again! This year’s theme was “Made in Michigan,” and if you live in Michigan, near us, or have just heard about our great state, then you know we have a lot to offer. 

From a Euchre tournament, to afternoon treats from Grand Traverse Pie Company, to Hot Wheels racing with Motor City classics, our team did an excellent job incorporating themes that are dear to Michiganders while making sure there was something to energize, engage, and enthuse everyone in the building!

At Baudville, we believe that all of our team members represent customer service, whether they’re on the phones or tucked away in a cubicle crunching numbers. That means celebrating the week always involves a variety of diversions, from games to food to everything in-between. Essentially, something for every Baudvillian to enjoy – just like we like it! 

We make Customer Service Week a really big deal because we know that our customer service is what sets us apart. And we also know that every single person at Baudville is a part of making our service exceptional. We can’t think of a better way to say thanks than making it last for an entire week. 

Cheers!

 
Baudvillians race their Motor City Classics! 

This year we are kicking off Customer Service Week by celebrating something that is close to all our hearts here at Baudville. We are celebrating Michigan, with our Made in Michigan themed Customer Service Week.

For me Customer Service Week is extra special this year because it’s my first one… ever.  I was told last week kind of what to expect going into Customer Service Week, but for the most part I was left to determine what Baudville’s Customer Service Week is all about all by myself.  

Here's what we have been up to so far:

My first discovery about Customer Service Week at Baudville is that we get an entire week of casual days! If you have read any of my previous blog posts you will know about my enthusiasm for casual days. I promise, this blog post is not another rant about how much I love casual days.

Friday afternoon all of the employees received an email pumping us up for Customer Service Week but leaving the theme a secret.  On the dot at 8 o’clock Monday morning we were greeted by an email introducing our Made in Michigan themed Customer Service Week and the activity of the day: euchre.  Euchre is a very dear card game to all of us Michiganders and most of us have grown up playing with family and friends. Here at Baudville, two people from each department volunteered to play a high stakes game of euchre against the other departments. The winning team won a special prize for their department.  With the thoughts of euchre looming in the air that day a lot of Baudvillians got together and played card games at lunch. It was a great way for employees to hang out during their break and have a good time with each other.

On Tuesday our knowledge was tested. How much do we actually know about Michigan? We were quizzed with Michigan trivia questions like, What is our State’s Reptile? How many lighthouses does Michigan have?  and True or false, Michigan is one of two places in the world with a floating post office? False… we’re the only one! Then we finished the day with some yummy Made in Michigan pies!

Today, Wednesday, we were greeted with toy Hot Wheels cars and a gift certificate for a free car wash. At lunch we opened the cars and raced them against others. This provided a fun little activity that Baudvillans have been talking about all day, or should I say smack talking, as they compared their cars.

I found out that Customer Service Week is incredibly important here at Baudville. The activities that are planned throughout the week are great ways of saying thanks for all the hard work and that we truly do appreciate our customer service reps. Appreciating your customer service reps doesn’t have to be an over the top occasion, games and trivia can be just as nice of a gesture.

Tell us what you are doing for Customer Service Week!

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Kendra is the newest Baudvillian. She is currently an advertising intellectual at Grand Valley State University, and is ecstatic about the change of atmosphere as Baudville’s web marketing intern. Watch out because this young professional just touched down at Baudville.

Thanks for joining me today for our latest episode of Recognition TV! Today I shared five theme ideas and coordinating activities that you can use for Customer Service Week, plus several low and no-cost ideas. Customer Service Week is coming up October 3-7, so now is the time to begin your planning! You can watch the recorded version of my webisode and many more in our Recognition Resource Center.

I focused on themes for Customer Service Week because that is always the first place we start with our event planning. The theme sets the tone for the entire event and serves as the guideline for your decision making. However, coming up with a creative theme can be the hardest part, so I’ve compiled five of my favorite ideas for this year.

1. Hollywood Movie Star Customer Service Week Theme
Give your employees the red carpet treatment with a movie star or Hollywood themed event. We used this theme at Baudville several years ago and started the week by replacing our regular black carpet runners with red ones. It didn’t cost anything extra, and it started the week with a bang! This theme is fun for Customer Service Week because you emphasize the importance of your customer service team by referring to them as stars all week.

Activity ideas for this theme:
- Create your own hall of fame with employee names on gold stars.
- Put together swag bags for every member of your team.
- Host a trivia contest or have a Scene-It DVD game show down in the afternoon.
- End the week by giving your team a memento to remember the week, like a Twist Top Tumbler in the Star Performer theme.

2. Patriotic Customer Service Week Theme
Celebrate Customer Service Week with a Patriotic Theme. Start the week by giving every employee a United We Stand Character Pin and have managers write individual notes to the recipients on the back of the card.

Activity ideas for this theme:
- Declare one day red, white and blue and encourage everyone to dress in those colors.
- Take a picture of the entire company in their patriotic colors outside the building or in a large gathering place for a photo. Print copies for everyone.
- Host a red, white, and blue potluck and hand out awards, such as most creative use of color, judge’s favorite, and best presentation.
- Customer Service Week isn’t complete without a little competition, so create teams and challenge them to build an American monument using only toothpicks and gum drops.

3. Making a Difference Customer Service Week Theme
Customer Service Week is about thanking your employees, but you can use this week to focus on your external customers, too. This year, dedicate Customer Service Week to your community with a Making a Difference theme.

Activity ideas for this theme:
- Have a competition to collect canned goods, clothing, or loose change. Send daily updates to the entire organization about the status of the challenge.
- Volunteer as a team during the week at a local soup kitchen, food pantry, or other charitable organization.
- Begin a Pay It Forward campaign during the week within your organization using Cheerful Change.
- Ask employees to share their stories of random acts of kindness on the company blog or intranet. See how far the tokens spread outside of your organization by the end of the week!

For the rest of the ideas from my Customer Service Week Ideas webisode, read our Recognition Resource Center article.

Do you annually celebrate Customer Service Week at your organization? Share your tips and ideas in the comments!

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Cori is Baudville's in-house Recognitionista (she's officially a Certified Recognition Professional, too)  and a member of the Millennial generation. Get her employee recognition tips and special discounts by liking Baudville on Facebook.

Customer Service Week is October 3-7 – only 3 weeks away! But there’s still plenty of time for you to plan a celebration for your team that will leave them feeling appreciated, valued, and committed to the organization. At Baudville, we plan an activity or event for every day of Customer Service Week, so we have a lot of experience putting together celebrations! Here are our seven tips for planning this year’s celebration:

1. Ask Your Team for Input.
Get your team involved to ensure you events are a hit. I recommend putting together a small team dedicated to planning the Customer Service Week celebration. You’ll receive first hand feedback from your staff on their favorite ways to celebrate, plus you’ll be able to delegate tasks. To keep on track of your event planning, download our free Employee Event Planning Checklist.

Celebrate your team during Customer Service Week!

2. Use a Theme.
I bring up this tip every year because it is so important! Choose a theme for Customer Service Week! A theme will serve as the common factor of your week and is represented in all your communication, activities, even your food. Tying everything together makes it more fun and memorable for all your participants.

3. Incorporate Food!
Food provides an excellent opportunity for your team to get together and build camaraderie. Organize a potluck, have lunch catered, or take the team out to eat as a special treat during Customer Service Week. If you’re on a tight budget, ask employees to bring their lunches to work and arrange for a showing of a movie or an episode of The Office during their lunch break.

4. Celebrate Wins.
Make an effort to celebrate your team’s accomplishments with the entire company during Customer Service Week. Publish a special edition of your company newsletter or have guest bloggers from the customer service department take over your company blog for the week. At the end of the week, everyone should be singing the praises of your team!

5. Host a Team Activity.
Get your team energized with some friendly competition during Customer Service Week. At Baudville, we love to put together games from Minute to Win It. Individuals attempt the task as best they can and compete for prizes. The games are really easy and low cost to put on.

Have fun with Customer Service Week activities and themes!

6. Make It Fun!
Have fun with Customer Service Week! Include fun dress up days into your schedule, like a crazy hat day or decade day. We did this a couple of years ago and had a lot of fun with it! You can see pictures on our Facebook page.

7. Express Sincere Appreciation.
Your number one goal at the end of Customer Service Week is that every member of your team will feel appreciated and valued. Write a personal note to each individual expressing your appreciation for their contributions – and be specific! Tell them exactly what they do that helps your team run more smoothly. You could also schedule one-on-one time with your team or pick out a personal gift they’ll love.

Customer Service Week is a great time to recognize the efforts and contributions of your frontline people who have a direct impact on sales and your customers. What tips do you have for celebrating Customer Service Week 2011? Share them in the comments!

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Cori is Baudville's in-house Recognitionista (she's officially a Certified Recognition Professional, too)  and a member of the Millennial generation. Get her employee recognition tips and special discounts by liking Baudville on Facebook.

Customer Service Week games can transform the office into the set of a game show, secluded island, or competitive court. To read some stories of this kind of Customer Service Week game , check out CSWeek.com. However, if your customer service professionals can’t be away from their desks for long periods of time, try one of the following Customer Service Week games that can be completed at a desk without sacrificing fun.

Don’t forget to have prizes on hand for the winners! Browse our selection of Customer Service Week gifts for desktop gifts and small treats that employees will love.

Buzzword Bingo.
This is a popular activity for call centers. Create your own bingo sheets by randomly inserting words and phrases into the squares that commonly come up in conversations with customers. (Don’t forget a free square) Employees cross off squares throughout the day as they hear the words and phrases used in everyday conversation. They notify a supervisor once they get a bingo. You can easily create bingo cards online at a number of different websites. Here’s one: http://print-bingo.com/

You can continue the Bingo game after Customer Service Week with our Office Bingo recognition program. Read about how this program works in one of our how-to recognition blog post.

Create your own Bingo game or play the Baudville version!

Baby Picture Match Game.
Ask employees to submit a baby picture of themselves under the age of 5. Make sure pictures are labeled to ensure you can return them to the right person. You can either post all the pictures in a public place, or create a handout with all the pictures and a list of employees.  Employees have to match the name with the baby picture. 

Customer Service Week Trivia Game.
Email a trivia question to the team on a regular basis throughout Customer Service Week. Ask questions related to your Customer Service Week theme. You can give prizes to the first correct response, or enter all correct entries into a drawing. Draw winners every day or at the end of the week.

People Poker.
This game lasts all week, and you will need a lot of card decks! Employees get a new card added to their hand each day. Hands are compared throughout the week, and the lucky winners with the best hands are announced on Friday.  You can up the ante in your poker game by awarding Tokens of Appreciation (same size and shape as regular poker chips!) throughout the week.

Rewards.
Recognize employees for participating in Customer Service Week games by giving them a Token of Appreciation when they complete a game. Award more tokens for first place winners, etc. At the end of the week, have employees redeem their tokens for Customer Service Week gifts. This is a great way to give each employee a small gift and encourage participation in games throughout the week!

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Cori is Baudville's in-house Recognitionista (she's officially a Certified Recognition Professional, too)  and a member of the Millennial generation. Get her employee recognition tips and special discounts by liking Baudville on Facebook.