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WebStar Service Awards

Web Sites Will Shine in San Diego

(San Diego, CA October 19, 2001) – The Service & Support Professionals Association (SSPA) announced today the Call for Nominations for the 2002 WebStar Service Awards program. The annual WebStar Service Awards are presented to companies who excel at providing exceptional customer service and technical support via the Web. The SSPA will announce the 2002 WebStar Service Award winners at a special dinner in conjunction with the SSPA San Diego Summit conference, February 4-7, 2002. The WebStar Service Awards involve a self-nominating process and are open to SSPA and SSPA Service Vendor Alliance (SVA) Members.

“The WebStar Service Awards are another way for the SSPA to recognize exceptional customer service, “ said Bill Rose, SSPA Founder/Executive Director. “Those companies that focus on delivering web-based support with innovative techniques and technologies will be recognized through this industry wide award program.”

Individuals and companies have become smarter about what software they buy, from whom they buy it and to what extent technical support is provided. All of this has led to consumers who not only expect to have someone or something answer their questions, but they expect them to answer their questions faster then ever before. This has led to a group of consumers who expect a very high level of service all the way through the process. The WebStar Service Award recognizes those companies that meet this new level of technical support and customer service that online consumers expect.

The WebStar Service Awards were developed to:
1. Recognize companies who have been able to truly deliver exceptional customer service and technical support, via the Web.
2. Help companies and individuals to quickly identify those organizations that have committed the time and resources to effectively serve their customers, via the Web.
3. Create a benchmark against which other organizations can measure their own level of service.


Applicants who compete for these awards are judged based on the following criteria:

Methods of Interaction
Online Chat, E-mail, Phone, Fax, FAQ's, Mail, Real time connection to a live agent chat session over the Internet, Real time transfer to a live agent through either Internet telephony or plain old telephone service.

Performance
Availability, Usability, Responsiveness, Courtesy/Quality, Outcome

Other
al surveys, Tracking and monitoring capabilities, Use of Metrics, Graphical Appearance, Automated systems

“Most companies that provide technical support are moving from strictly telephone support to comprehensive web-based support options,” said Mike Mellace, WebStar Service Awards Coordinator. “With SSPA’s twelve year history of recognizing excellence in customer service, it is only logical that we recognize companies that provide exceptional technical support online.”

For more information on how to apply for an Award or Service & Support Professionals Association (SSPA) and Service Vendor Alliance (SVA) Memberships please visit www.supportgate.com or send an email to info@supportgate.com.

About SSPA
Founded in 1989, SSPA represents over 15,000 service executives in over 500 member companies worldwide. SSPA gives service and support professionals opportunities to share ideas, discuss developing trends and network with their peers. SSPA offers its members conferences, seminars, specialized training, executive forums, certification programs and a variety of publications. SSPA resides at the web portal of Supportgate at www.supportgate.com. Through these ‘gates’ you will find the Membership Communities of the Service & Support Professionals Association (SSPA), the SSPA Europe, the SSPA Asia Pacific, the SSPA Service Vendor Alliance, (SVA) and the SSPA Professionals Membership.

The Supportgate web portal site is ‘home’ for service professionals and executives and features many opportunities such as the Membership Directory, Ask SSPA, SSPA Benchmarking, Member2Member Information Exchange; Expert Connections; SupportBooks and the SSPA Certification online Training and Testing.

It also contains Conference and Events Calendars; a Virtual Tradeshow; Industry News; Surveys; SupportWeek and a Vendor Directory. Supportgate is the home for the Software Technical Assistance Recognition (STAR) Awards; the WebStar Service Awards; Support SuperStars Awards; SCP Site Certification and SSPA Individual Certification. For more information regarding the SSPA and other related divisions, log on to www.supportgate.com or send an email to info@supportgate.com.
 
Editorial Contact:
Ron Johnson
Supportgate.com
909.244.7002
rjohnson@supportgate.com
 
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