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Honoring Customer
Experience Excellence
Ten who set the bar for customer experience.
FORTUNE™ Partners is pleased to announce the ten winners of the 2017 FORTUNE™ Partners Top Service Leaders Award, an initiative underwritten by Salesforce.
A five-person panel of FORTUNE editors and customer service experts chose the ten after careful review. It was a rigorous process. Our nominees came from three sources: We used an online public nomination form, we searched online for candidates well recognized for customer experience, and we asked Salesforce, which had no role in the judging, for its direct observations of successful companies.
How did we choose? Nominees completed a questionnaire that outlined their customer experience strategies. Our panelists evaluated their responses using established customer service metrics. For example, we looked at leadership involvement. We wanted to know about customer experience team positioning. And we asked about customer retention. Then we applied a point scheme to assess their answers. Candidates also answered two essay questions: What were their best success stories? And how did they use customer experience to differentiate from the competition?
Judging was tough, but we selected 30 finalists, then distilled the list down to the ten leaders shown here to honor.
The award shines a light on leaders who instill the values, insights and philosophies that represent the best in customer experience. Treating customers with attention, respect and empathy has become the critical feature consistently distinguishing successful companies.
Many companies now act quickly to identify and address customer concerns. But the leaders honored here go beyond. They understand that service is in the details—and that the customer experience is a composite of those details. A polite reception on the phone or a quick response to an issue is basic. But winners know it’s critical to walk with the customer every step of the journey. That’s how they earned their clientele’s trust, confidence and recurring business.
FORTUNE™ Partners and Salesforce is proud to honor these winners— leaders and pioneers all.
Tina Lamb
2nd VP of Claims Production AflacThe Aflac customer service mission is to be there when policyholders need us most, through the actions of caring people who strive to help others.
George Angelato
VP Quality Assurance Hyland SoftwareCustomer-first service is a core value. We foster customers as partners and create a positive customer experience delivered through our solutions with competence and confidence.
Nick Gregory
Senior Vice President, Hotel Operations Kimpton Hotels and RestaurantsAt our core, we are an organization that connects employees to a higher purpose of caring for people and creates genuine, caring human connections.
Marcie Smith
VP Customer Experience Macmillan LearningOur customer training and on- boarding is a constantly evolving reflection of our customer needs as well as the known confusion points in our products.
David Sangster
EVP Operations NutanixWe balance the yin and yang of strong issue resolution with the recognition that successful service is really about how customers feel about the interaction.
Mike Powell
VP Technology Solutions RIM LogisticsRecognizing that an effortless experience is paramount, RIM logistics deploys an omnichannel approach to service. RIM Community delivers a disruptive approach to the logistics industry.
Melissa Porter
VP Customer Relations Tailored BrandsWe believe that our well-known promise “youʼre going to like the way you look” also means “youʼre going to like the way you feel.”.
Gardell Powell
Chief Client Officer Veterans United Home LoansOur culture of having fun, delivering results with integrity, and enhancing peopleʼs lives has fostered happy and productive employees, which directly influences the client experience.
Emily McEvilly
SVP Services WorkdayCustomer satisfaction is the key metric of our success. It drives and differentiates our business. Our customer satisfaction has exceeded 95% for the past seven years.
Joseph Bocanegra
VP Customer Success ZipRecruiterWeʼre focused on delighting our job seekers and employers alike by humanizing and removing friction from the hiring process. We personalize each best-in- class customer experience.
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