ICMI Announces the 2010 Global Call Center of the Year Award Winners, Selected for Embodying the Principles of Effective Call Center Management, Customer Advocacy and Employee Engagement

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.-- The International Customer Management Institute (ICMI) announced the 2010 Global Call Center of the Year Award winners at ACCE (Annual Call Center Conference and Exhibition) on June 16, 2010. Capital One Financial Corporation was selected as the outstanding call center in the Large Call Center category (more than 75 agents), while TransCore’s Commercial Technology Group Freight Services was selected as the outstanding call center in the Small-Medium Call Center category (75 agents or less).

“ICMI is one of the service industry's most widely recognized and respected advisory organizations, and it is truly an honor to receive this award” “We are thrilled to formally recognize Capital One and TransCore as the best of the best in the call center community,” said Greg Levin, community services manager for ICMI and chairperson of the Global Call Center of the Year Awards Selection Committee.

“Both organizations exemplified the key principles of effective call center management as well as a strong commitment to their customers and agents. We applaud them on their achievement and wish them continued success.”

Capital One Financial Corporation is a Fortune 200 financial services company serving approximately 45 million customer accounts worldwide. Its call center, based in Richmond, Va., is strong in virtually every area, but what stood out most about the center was its very strong agent retention practices and exemplary workforce management tactics, as well as how the contact center has embraced social media to enhance customer advocacy.

Ron Kaplan, Senior Manager- Market Intelligence, Capital One Corporate Strategy; Heather Cox, Senior VP, Card Operations; Don Busick, Managing VP, Card Operations; Tom York, VP, Card Operations; and James Mendelsohn, VP, Corporate Strategy, accepted the award for Capital One.

"ICMI is one of the service industry's most widely recognized and respected advisory organizations, and it is truly an honor to receive this award," said Heather Cox, senior vice president at Capital One. "Customer service is a top priority for Capital One. We have taken a broad strategic approach to bring excellence to customer care through innovative training programs and a universal commitment to meet and exceed customer expectations. More than anything though this is a tribute to the dedication and professionalism of our customer service team and their efforts to provide the best experience possible to Capital One customers."

TransCore’s Commercial Technology Group is a leading transportation solutions provider serving brokers, carriers, owner-operators and shippers in the U.S. and Canada. Among the many strengths of TransCore’s call center, based in Portland, Ore., are its excellent quality monitoring practices and results as well as its comprehensive and effective customer satisfaction measurement and management tactics. TransCore is a two-time winner, awarded the ICMI Global Call Center of the Year Award in 2007.

“To have received this award twice is a doubly great honor. It’s recognition of our commitment to consistent quality and customer focus,” explained David Schrader, senior vice president Freight Services, TransCore Commercial Technology.

Laura Mendoza, Senior Manager, Customer Support; Tamara Hart, Supervisor, Customer Support; and AnnaAlicia Weller, Team Lead Customer Support, accepted the award for TransCore.

ICMI presents its Global Call Center of the Year Awards annually, recognizing outstanding customer care organizations that embody call center excellence in the following ways:

  • Show a strong grasp of the core and advanced principles of effective call center management
  • Measure the right metrics and consistently meet or exceed key performance objectives – always mindful of each metric’s impact on the customer experience.
  • Sustain a positive work culture that fosters employee engagement, development, and continuous improvement
  • Demonstrate innovation and progressive strategy in terms of people management, processes and technology
  • Continually strive to strengthen the call center’s role within and strategic value to the larger organization.

Call centers that win the Global Call Center of the Year award enjoy worldwide recognition, enhanced customer and employee loyalty and acquisition, and increased respect and support from senior management and key departments within the enterprise.

The Global Call Center of the Year award winners were chosen by ICMI’s elite awards Selection Committee, made up of some of the leading consultants, analysts and journalists in the call center industry.

For more details about the annual ICMI Global Call Center of the Year Award, please visit http://www.icmi.com/icmi.aspx?c=107.

About Capital One Financial Corporation

Capital One Financial Corporation is a financial holding company whose subsidiaries, which include Capital One, N.A. and Capital One Bank (USA), N. A., had $117.8 billion in deposits and $200.7 billion in total managed assets outstanding as of March 31, 2010. Headquartered in McLean, Virginia, Capital One offers a broad spectrum of financial products and services to consumers, small businesses and commercial clients. Capital One, N.A. has approximately 1,000 branch locations primarily in New York, New Jersey, Texas, Louisiana, Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia.