Alliance Data's Card Services Business Sets Industry Standard With Eleventh Consecutive BenchmarkPortal 'Center of Excellence' Certification for its Customer Care Centers

COLUMBUS, Ohio, March 9, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Alliance Data Systems Corporation's card services business (www.knowmoresellmore.com), a premier provider of branded private label, co-brand and commercial credit programs, has achieved the "Center of Excellence" certification by BenchmarkPortal for the eleventh consecutive time; more than any other company in the Financial Services/Credit industry. Reserved for the top 10 percent of all customer care centers surveyed by BenchmarkPortal, the "Center of Excellence" designation is based on best-practice metrics for quality, cost, efficiency, effectiveness and superior overall performance.

"A foundational pillar of our business is a commitment to customer- and brand-centricity and providing 'white glove service' that permeates every facet of our brand partner relationship, especially customer care," said Sallie Komitor, chief customer officer for Alliance Data's card services business. "Across seven customer care center locations, we continue to invest in our more than 4,800 care center associates so that they can truly understand our brand partners' businesses. We use 'Voice of the Customer' surveys, call monitoring and speech analytics to continuously improve the quality of service – creating an environment of excellence that allows us to provide the best customer care experience possible."

Alliance Data's passion for customer satisfaction is annually reflected in the BenchmarkPortal methodology, which monitors 41 unique metrics proven to be indicative of overall customer care center performance. In particular, Alliance Data continues to elevate above industry peers in several segments like first call resolution, time calls are spent in queue (93% lower than industry averages) and speed at which calls are answered (34% faster than industry average).  

"Once again, Alliance Data's commitment to service excellence stands above industry averages, demonstrating its continued leadership in call center operational quality and in all aspects of call center management," said Bruce Belfiore, chief executive officer of BenchmarkPortal. "These achievements of distinction continue to have a positive impact on Alliance Data's clients, employees and all of its stakeholders."

BenchmarkPortal was founded in 1995 and is a global leader in the contact center industry, providing benchmarking, certification, training, consulting and industry reports, and maintains the world's largest call center metrics database.

"Each 'Center of Excellence' certification is a point of pride for Alliance Data and represents critical third-party validation of our focus on creating positive customer experiences that foster a deeper relationship between the cardmember and the brand," said Komitor.

About Center of Excellence Certification

Contact centers and their managers who wish to implement best practices and obtain world-class performance in their industry have a unique opportunity to certify their call centers. BenchmarkPortal's rigorous certification process has the advantage of referencing all performance goals to their best practice database of thousands of contact centers. Thus, contact centers will be held to performance levels that will improve their competitive position, not just force them to adhere to an arbitrary standard. Please follow the link to discover what the steps to certification are and how they will improve your center's performance. www.benchmarkportal.com/call-center-certification.  

About BenchmarkPortal

Founded in 1995, BenchmarkPortal is a global leader in the contact center industry, providing benchmarking, certification, training, consulting and industry reports. The BenchmarkPortal team of professionals has gained international recognition for its expertise and an innovative approach to best practices for the contact center industry and hosts the world's largest database of contact center metrics. BenchmarkPortal's mission is to help contact centers reach peak performance in operational effectiveness and efficiency so that the centers will realize increased levels of agent and customer loyalty while containing costs and building enterprise value. For more information on BenchmarkPortal, please call 1-800-214-8929 or visit www.BenchmarkPortal.com.

About Alliance Data's card services business

Alliance Data's card services business is a leading provider of tailored marketing and loyalty solutions, delivered through branded credit programs that drive more profitable relationships between our brand partners and their cardmembers. We offer private label, co-brand, and commercial products to many of the world's most recognizable brands across a multitude of channels.

We uphold our Know more. Sell more.^® promise by leveraging unmatched customer insights, advanced analytics, and broad-reaching innovative capabilities. It's how we deliver increased sales to our partners, build enduring loyalty to their brands, and provide more value to our cardmembers. Alliance Data's card services business is a proud part of the Alliance Data enterprise. To learn more, visit www.knowmoresellmore.com or follow us on Twitter @Know_SellMore.

SOURCE Alliance Data