5 Inexpensive Ways to Celebrate Customer Service Week
Customer service professionals are the unsung heroes of many workplaces. They’re the faces and voices of your company to some of your most valuable assets: your customers. They interact on a daily basis with your clients and consumers, developing and sustaining loyalty among that community.
It’s not only important that your customers feel appreciated and engaged, but that the very people on your customer service team feel appreciated and engaged. Right now, it’s National Customer Service Week, and this is a great opportunity to celebrate them with some fun and engaging activities — without breaking the bank!
Here are five inexpensive ways to celebrate Customer Service Week, based on activities and events our Hinda team has put together in our Chicago office.
MAKE THEM A BREAKFAST BAR
Everyone loves a free meal, and a delicious feast first thing in the morning can set the tone for a happy day ahead. Treat your customer service team to a breakfast bar, and include different options on the menu they can choose from. (As always, incorporating personalization into the token of appreciation can make the recipient feel more special.) And check whether there are any food allergies or dietary restrictions before you pick a menu, so you can be sure that everyone on the team will be able to enjoy the treat.
Whether you opt for an omelet station, waffle bar with mixed toppings, or cereal station with different choices, keep it uncomplicated, easy for the team to enjoy during their work day, and full of colorful, wholesome foods that go above and beyond the standard bagel.
A few Hinda volunteers setting up a waffle breakfast to serve to the customer service team
CREATE AN APPRECIATION TREE
We’re big proponents of appreciation boards and the power of a handwritten thank-you note. Public boards offer a way for employees to draft their own words of appreciation and share publicly with the rest of the company. It’s a great way to not only personalize the “thank you,” but also share it and watch it multiply throughout the company.
Here at Hinda, our customer service department keeps a miniature Christmas tree in their office space that they decorate together for holidays. This year for our “Customer Service Day,” all other departments are invited to come and hang personalized thank-you notes on the tree, so that the CS team will have a beautifully decorated appreciation tree in their honor.
Hinda's appreciation tree setup in the customer service department
INVITE YOUR COMMUNITY TO SHOW THEIR APPRECIATION
Your customer service team is out there each and every day taking care of your customers’ needs, so why not invite that community to join the conversation and voice their appreciation? Encourage social appreciation with special posts on your social media channels. Give a shout-out to your team where fans and followers can comment, like or engage with that post.
One of Hinda's social posts to show and share customer service appreciation with our community
PROVIDE A SPECIAL SERVICE TO YOUR CUSTOMER SERVICE TEAM
Give your customer service team a break by having the rest of your team serve them this week. Pick a day to have employees offer some service up to the customer service team that gives them a chance to take a bit of a load off that day. Maybe have a sign-up sheet for certain employees to make a coffee run for the CS team, or bring them catered lunch.
Here at Hinda, we had a small group of employees serve our customer service team a personalized breakfast that was brought directly to their desks, so they could enjoy a hearty breakfast served specially for them.
A Hinda volunteer serving customer service their personalized breakfasts at their desks
THROW THEM A PARTY!
A previous year at Hinda, our office held a superhero-themed day for the customer service team. Their team donned superhero capes and costumes and had their own parade through the office.
These fun and lighthearted events give your customer service team a break from the usual office day and let the rest of the company cheer them on and hold a party in their honor!
A few members of the customer service team donning their superhero garb for their parade day