Alliance Data has achieved ‘Center of Excellence’ designation more often than any other company in the financial services/credit industry; Awards demonstrate continued achievement in superior customer service

COLUMBUS, Ohio, March 9, 2017 — Alliance Data’s card services business, an Alliance Data company and a premier provider of branded credit programs to many of the world’s most recognizable brands, has achieved the Top Contact Centers Award in addition to the “Center of Excellence” certification from BenchmarkPortal. Alliance Data has for the 12th time earned the “Center of Excellence” certification ─ more than any other company in the financial services/credit industry, and also placed second overall in the large center category for the Top Contact Centers Award (previously Top 100 Call Centers).

“At Alliance Data, we are deliberately different. Customer connections are essential to our and our brand partners’ success. We put card members first by delivering customer care that builds more meaningful relationships between brands and their most loyal customers,” said Sallie Komitor, chief customer officer for Alliance Data’s card services business. “These achievements in customer care are notable in the financial services and credit industry. Our more than 5,800 associates in our seven U.S.-based care centers are focused on creating an environment of service excellence rooted in continual innovation, consumer insights and ongoing, focused training.”

Reserved for the top 10 percent of all customer care centers surveyed by BenchmarkPortal, the “Center of Excellence” certification designation is based on best practices of customer service and overall performance. Only call centers that show a superior achievement based on quality, cost, efficiency, and effectiveness metrics receive this certification. BenchmarkPortal’s Top Contact Centers Award measures call centers on actual performance metrics focused on efficiency and effectiveness against the world’s largest contact center database.

Alliance Data’s passion for customer care is reflected in the BenchmarkPortal methodology, which monitors 41 unique metrics proven to be indicative of overall customer care center performance. In particular, Alliance Data continues to surpass its industry peers in several segments, including first call resolution (4 percent above industry averages), time calls are spent in queue (69 percent less time than industry averages) and speed at which calls are answered (27 percent faster than industry averages).

“Alliance Data continues to lead in customer service in its industry. Every aspect of customer care, from the wait time of customers to the quality of the service provided, is carefully managed by the centers’ leadership to foster and maintain the best relationships with callers,” said Bruce Belfiore, chief executive officer of BenchmarkPortal. “The experience customers receive when they call Alliance Data’s customer care centers is truly unparalleled and should be a point of pride for the company’s stakeholders and employees.”

BenchmarkPortal’s activities began in 1995, and today it is a global leader in the contact center industry, providing benchmarking, certification, training, consulting and industry reports, and maintains the world’s largest call center metrics database.

About Top Contact Centers
The Top Contact Centers Contest is internationally recognized as the premier call center contest. Based on actual performance metrics, benchmarked against the world’s largest database, this competition is unique and attracts a broad range of participants, from small centers to very large, multi-site operations – and everything in between.

About “Center of Excellence” Certification
Contact centers and their managers who wish to implement best practices and obtain world-class performance in their industry have a unique opportunity to certify their call centers. BenchmarkPortal’s rigorous certification process has the advantage of referencing all performance goals to their best practice database of thousands of contact centers. Please follow the link to discover what the steps to certification are and how they will improve your center’s performance. www.benchmarkportal.com/call-center-certification.

About BenchmarkPortal
BenchmarkPortal’s activities began in 1995, and it is now a global leader in the contact center industry, providing benchmarking, certification, training, consulting and research. The BenchmarkPortal team of professionals has gained international recognition for its innovative approach to best practices for contact centers. BenchmarkPortal hosts the world’s largest database of contact center metrics, which is constantly being refreshed with new data. BenchmarkPortal’s mission is to provide contact center managers with the tools and information that will help them optimize their efficiency and effectiveness in their customer communications. For more information, please call 1-800-214-8929 or visit www.BenchmarkPortal.com.

About Alliance Data’s card services business
Alliance Data’s card services business is a leading provider of tailored marketing and loyalty solutions, delivered through branded credit programs that drive more profitable relationships between our brand partners and their cardmembers. We offer private label, co-brand, and commercial products to many of the world’s most recognizable brands across a multitude of channels.

We uphold our Know more. Sell more.® promise by leveraging unmatched customer insights, advanced analytics, and broad-reaching innovative capabilities. It’s how we deliver increased sales to our partners, build enduring loyalty to their brands, and provide more value to our cardmembers. Alliance Data’s card services business is a proud part of the Alliance Data enterprise. To learn more, visit www.knowmoresellmore.com or follow us on Twitter @Know_SellMore.

SOURCE Alliance Data Card Services

Topics: Call Center Certification, Center of Excellence, Contact Center Certification, Press Releases