Retail Observer

RETAILOBSERVER.COM SEPTEMBER 2020 64 S E R V I C E D E P A R T M E N T Don Pierson, Certified Service Center (CSC) www.certifiedservicecenter.org RO E very once in a while it's good to look back and see if the Consortium of Certified Service Centers has actually continued to adhere to and meet its original set of Goals and Objectives. The Mission Statement of CSC was and still is as follows: "The mission of the Certified Service Center program is to recognize and encourage professionalism within the service industry and to publicly identify and support those service facilities that strive to provide honest, competent and professional service. The Program is designed to provide positive service experiences to all consumers. The Certified Service Center designation is presented to those service facilities that provide a level of service professionalism that meets or exceeds the high levels established by the requirements of this certification." We are all still working hard every day to deliver positive customer experiences through professional conduct at all levels of our CSC companies. Each day that goes by CSC continues to offer customers the opportunity to call CSC with complaints or comments about any Certified Service Center and the phone continues to remain silent. With virtually zero complaints it is obvious that the original set of CSC Approval Criteria does still serve as an excellent formula for identifying the best of the best in service companies. We have much to applaud as CSCs. I looked over the list of CSCs located on our website and noted that over 80 Certified Service Centers were approved as CSCs over 10 years ago. Our first CSCs were approved back in 2003 and we continue to get new applicants approved every year. We also continue to renew the status of many Certified Service Centers on a 3-year cycle and we appreciate all of their continued support. We have expanded into Canada and have modified our applications to meet their specific needs without ever modifying the stringent standards that must still be met by every CSC today. Another factor to be proud of as an organization is that when our Certified Service Center companies do renew, they have continued to grow the percentage of certifications in their technical, management and customer support groups within their companies and have gone well past the minimum requirements set by CSC. The goal when CSC started was to have the certification process become part of a company's operational philosophy, and we can see that this has truly happened. We have many companies who are well over the minimum goals of 50% technical and 50% customer service certifications at renewal. We also have many technicians who have achieved Senior Technician status and some who have achieved Master Technician status where a technician must pass individual certifications in six areas of service expertise. I believe certifications have gone from a required test that nobody wanted to take to a tangible documented recognition of the actual technical and business skills people possess. Regrettably, Certified Service Center has not yet expanded into many more industries due to manufacturers' continued hesitation to adopt this certification program for their authorized service providers. With the increasing number of advertised certifications and referral programs in the marketplace today, and our proven ability to develop up-to-date certifications for just about any service industry, we will continue to work with manufacturers in other industries to keep trying to widen the footprint of the Certified Service Center Program in other service industries. This concept of developing certifications in any industry provides service standards that will positively influence the level of service for the customers and manufacturers, by helping to assure technical and business competence. When a manufacturer is looking for qualified help they will know where to look. Our thanks to our member organizations and CSC member companies for continuing to push for the growth of company and individual certifications in all service industries. We know now that it can and will make a difference. As someone who helped grow the CSC program in one industry, I am thankful for all those who have stepped forward and adopted this program. From your comments I can tell that this CSC recognition has met one of our initial key goals – to have this program become a tool that actually does serve to let you differentiate your company from the others who still claim to be "as good as you." I have also noticed the continued growth of our existing CSC companies over the years, and that is the best news of all! Hopefully, being a CSC played some role in that growth and expansion. Now the whole world can know that claiming excellence is easy, but proving it by becoming a Certified Service Center is the true mark of excellence that customers or manufacturers can trust. If any company wants to prove that they are a quality service company, have them do what our Certified Service Centers began doing over 15 years ago: walk the talk and become a Certified Service Center! THE CSC DIFFERENCE

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