1-800-FLOWERS.COM and CUETS Win Prestigious Call Center of the Year AwardPRNewswire SEATTLE, Sept. 22 /PRNewswire/ -- Winners of the ICMI Membership's prestigious Global Call Center of the Year Award were announced at the Annual Call Center Exhibition (ACCE) taking place in Seattle, WA last week. 1-800-FLOWERS.COM (NASDAQ: FLWS) was awarded the honor for the large call center category while CUETS took home the prize for the small-to-medium category. The Global Call Center of the Year Award honors the very best call centers within the worldwide membership community of the International Customer Management Institute. "Everyone here is absolutely thrilled about being named Global Call Center of the Year," said Connie Adcock, Senior Vice President of Customer Service for 1-800-FLOWERS.COM, a leading retailer of flowers and gifts for all occasions. "Every single team member played a part in this accomplishment, and this award is a wonderful validation of their efforts. This is our Oscar!" CUETS is the first winner of the small-to-medium call center category, which is new to the award this year. "It's not widely reported, but the vast majority of call centers are small-to-medium sized," commented Brad Cleveland, President of ICMI. "ICMI is now honoring these centers with their own award that recognizes their incredible accomplishments under challenging conditions." "To be chosen Call Center of the Year is a great honor for CUETS," said Tom Kindred, Executive Vice President of Client Services for CUETS. "The award is a great way for our contact center employees to be recognized for their excellent performance. Having set such an impressive standard will no doubt inspire employees to continue providing CUETS customers with the best service in the industry. We applaud the dedication and hard work of our staff." In addition to the winners, GE Capital Solutions and MASCO Services were honored as finalists in the award. All four organizations made presentations where they shared examples of their call center's "best practices." In addition to this year's finalists, 2005 winner PacifiCorp presented a separate keynote with a multimedia "virtual" site tour to the ICMI Members at the conference, continuing the tradition of sharing insights about their success with their peers. Each year, ICMI Membership recognizes outstanding contact center operations through its Global Call Center of the Year Award. The 2007 application for the award will be available in January. To download the application, and for more details, visit http://www.icmi.com/ccy. About 1-800-FLOWERS.COM® For more than 30 years, 1-800-FLOWERS.COM Inc. -- "Your Florist of Choice(SM)" -- has been providing customers around the world with the freshest flowers and finest selection of plants, gift baskets, gourmet foods and confections, and plush stuffed animals perfect for every occasion. 1-800- FLOWERS.COM® offers the best of both worlds: exquisite, florist- designed arrangements individually created by some of the nation's top floral artists and hand-delivered the same day, and spectacular flowers shipped from our growers to your door fresh. Customers can shop 1-800-FLOWERS.COM 24 hours a day, 7 days a week via the phone or Internet (1-800-356-9377 or http://www.1800flowers.com/) or by visiting a Company-operated or franchised store. Sales and Service Specialists are available 24/7, and fast and reliable delivery is offered same day, any day. As always, 100 percent satisfaction and freshness is guaranteed. The 1-800-FLOWERS.COM collection of brands also includes home decor and garden merchandise from Plow & Hearth® (1-800-627-1712 or http://www.plowandhearth.com/); popcorn and specialty treats from The Popcorn Factory® (1-800-541-2676 or http://www.thepopcornfactory.com/); exceptional cookies and baked gifts from Cheryl&Co.® (1-800-443-8124 or http://www.cherylandco.com/); premium chocolates and confections from Fannie May Confections Brands® (http://www.fanniemay.com/ and http://www.harrylondon.com/); gourmet foods from GreatFood.com® (http://www.greatfood.com/); children's gifts from HearthSong® (http://www.hearthsong.com/) and Magic Cabin® (http://www.magiccabin.com/); wine gifts from the WineTasting Network® (http://www.ambrosiawine.com/ and http://www.winetasting.com/); and gift baskets from 1-800-BASKETS.COM® (http://www.1800baskets.com/). 1-800-FLOWERS.COM, Inc. stock is traded on the NASDAQ market under ticker symbol FLWS. About CUETS CUETS is a national supplier and partner in the Canadian co-operative system, providing a complete range of advanced payment systems and services to credit unions, caisses populaires, cardholders, merchants and other organizations. CUETS offers MasterCard® products and services, backed by one of the most widely recognized brands in the world. The CHOICE REWARDS® loyalty program gives participants flexibility in merchandise and travel rewards selection. CUETS is celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2006. To learn more about CUETS, visit http://www.cuets.ca/. About ICMI Inc. ICMI, International Customer Management Institute, is the global leader to the call center industry for consulting, training, management tools, seminars, conferences, trade shows, networking, professional membership and publications. ICMI's mission is to provide the comprehensive information resources required by call center professionals to achieve operational excellence, attain superior business results, and enhance the strategic value of every customer interaction. Our team's sincere dedication, extensive experience, uncompromised objectivity and results-oriented vision has earned ICMI the reputation of being the industry's most trusted resource. For more information about ICMI, visit http://www.icmi.com/, or call 800-672-6177 (410-267-0700). Media Contact Michael Blair michaelb@icmi.com 410-308-3742 SOURCE: ICMI, Inc. CONTACT: Michael Blair of ICMI, Inc., +1-410-308-3742, or Web site: http://www.icmi.com/ Company News On-Call: http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/181993.html |