Find out what Phil Stewart, customer service director at Virgin Media Business, has to say about managing large volumes of enquiries, customer service professionalism and off-shoring.
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Running a large, B2B customer service operation: Interview with Phil Stewart of Virgin Media Business
Poor complaints processes and customer loyalty in the telecoms sector
Institute knowledge and research officer Alan Tanner discusses how the telecoms sector needs to make its processes more customer friendly in order to retain customers who want to re–purchase its products.
Time to stop delighting your customers?
The Harvard Business Review argues in its July/August magazine that we should stop trying to delight our customers and concentrate on delivering basic promises. Institute knowledge and research officer Alan Tanner analyses the impact of 'delightful' service on areas such as customer loyalty.
Mary Portas customer service survey
The presenter and retail expert wants your opinions on customer service.
Consumer channel choice
Our new literature review analyses the consumer costs and benefits associated with the selection of one purchase channel over another.
Managing generation differences in contact centres
A paper from Calcom argues that leaders need to foster a culture of tolerance and understanding between generations in order to save operational costs and improve customer experience.
World-class service: Definition, promotion and measurement
We've published a review of the literature around world-class service (WCS) that looks at whether the term has any meaning after overuse, how organisations can promote WCS and how it can be measured and maintained.
Institute sponsors dissertation prize at University of Brighton
The Institute continued its sponsorship of the most outstanding final year customer service dissertation prize.
The 2012 Olympics and customer service
We're gauging attitudes to customer service at the 2012 Olympics.
Apprenticeship information
You can download Apprenticeship application forms and related documents from our website.
Customer satisfaction measurement in contact centres
Business process guidance company Panviva have published a survey that looks at how contact centres measure customer satisfaction. They found that most centres measure internal performance thoroughly, but customer satisfaction measurement is imprecise.
Do you know a Customer Champion?
To celebrate National Customer Service Week we've launched a nationwide competition to find the UK's top customer service champion.
Ford Retail achieve Institute training accreditation
Ford Retail have partnered with The Institute to achieve TrainingMark accreditation for their customer service training programme.
Social media: What your customers expect
Our latest UK Customer Satisfaction Index reports shows that consumers want to be able to comment, review or make a complaint directly on organisations' websites. Running Twitter and Facebook accounts is less important, especially to older customers.
Mailchimp, emotional design and brand advocacy
Does an investment in “emotional design” make your customers more likely to become brand advocates? Institute web editor Leon Paternoster looks at mailing list service Mailchimp and tries to work out what makes it so good.
Patient satisfaction in General Practice: Changes over 30 years
Andrew Smith of Patient Dynamics presented a summary of his research into patient satisfaction with General Practice to our healthcare forum earlier this month. Patient satisfaction rates have remained high over the last 30 years, especially with smaller, more personal practices.
Customers: wake up to the real cost of excellent service
Customers have had it too good for too long. Most have come to expect premium products and services at minimum cost. It’s time for customers to wake up to the facts: quality service comes at a price.
How to improve contact centre service in 3 easy steps
Phil Stewart, customer service director at Virgin Media Business, shares three practical tips to improve the contact centre customer experience without increasing costs.
Managing your brand online: Dealing with complaints sites
How do you manage negative feedback online? Paul Hopkins discusses complaints sites and how organisations can deal with negative feedback on the internet.
ICS conference 2010 photos
Photos from the Institute’s 2010 conference.
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