Research Highlights Impact of Service Quality Standards (email this article)

San Diego, CA (February 03, 2004) -Service Strategies Corporation (Company Profile, Past Stories, Case Studies), administrator of the industry leading Support Center Practices (SCP) Certification program, today announced the availability of a new research paper from International Data Corporation (IDC) highlighting the impact of service quality standards.
 
IDC research indicates that the level of a company's support capabilities has a large and direct impact on their customer satisfaction and loyalty. IDC research also reveals that a growing percentage of purchase decisions are made based on the quality, reliability, and reputation of a vendor's support organization. This is leading many customer-oriented companies to increasingly leverage their passion for delivering world-class support as a key differentiator when compared to their competition.
 
In a new white paper, IDC writes that the Support Center Practices (SCP) Certification program has become one of the most recognized quality benchmarks for IT services support centers and help desks. SCP Certification quantifies the effectiveness of an organization's customer support based upon a stringent set of performance standards and industry best practices. The program has driven significant improvements in service quality among participating companies and has had a positive impact on their satisfaction and loyalty.
 
John Hamilton, president of Service Strategies Corporation said, "The SCP Certification program continues to have a strong, positive influence on the quality of service delivered across the technology support industry. The program has been adopted around the world as the leading benchmark of service excellence. The result achieved by participating organizations is remarkable."
 
SCP Certification, an internationally recognized standard created with the Service & Support Professionals Association (SSPA) and a consortium of leading technology companies along with Service Strategies, defines best practices for delivering technology support. The program quantifies the effectiveness of customer support, establishes a foundation to build on existing quality processes, and provides a clear focus on measurable results. SCP Certification requires comprehensive on-site audits to confirm that companies meet the requirements of approximately one hundred business elements defined in the program. Certified organizations must demonstrate their continued commitment to high performance standards through annual re-certification. Currently, over two hundred technology support organizations around the world are participating in the program.
 
One example of such continual improvement can be seen in Rockwell Automation's real-time support initiative, which was the result of what they learned from the SCP process. "With the SCP Certification process, we have seen increased customer satisfaction through staff productivity improvements and operational efficiencies," states Bob Sikora, Manager, Technical Support Delivery for Rockwell Automation. "In addition to the continuous improvement plan, we have also benefited from the benchmarks provided by the SCP Certification. And, as a result of our improved efficiencies, our customers have also benefited."
 
About Service Strategies Corporation
Headquartered in San Diego, CA, Service Strategies advances service excellence for quality-minded organizations by providing industry standard certification and training programs that ensure the delivery of consistent, high quality service and support. Service Strategies applies a proven benchmark process to its certification programs for continuous service improvement. The company's tailored training programs advance the skills and competencies of service professionals, leading to increased organizational effectiveness.
 
Service Strategies is responsible for managing and administering the Support Center Practices (SCP) Certification program and conducting certification audits. For additional information about Service Strategies, visit us online at www.servicestrategies.com, email info@servicestrategies.com, or call us at 858-674-4864, toll free in North America (800) 552-3058. For more information about the Support Center Practices Certification program, visit http://www.scpcertification.com/.