VIZIO Wins 'Top 10' Award And Seven Stevie® Awards At The 7th Annual Stevie Awards For Sales & Customer Service

IRVINE, Calif. and LAS VEGAS, Feb. 27, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- VIZIO, #1 large size HDTV¹and Sound Bar company², announced it has won a total of seven Stevie® Awards; two gold, one silver, four bronze, and a 'Top 10 Award' for best body of work in the seventh annual Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service.

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In addition to being ranked  "Highest in Customer Satisfaction with HDTVs" by J.D. Power and Associates³ and an A+ Better Business Bureau rating, VIZIO added to their customer service accolades with their 12^th Stevie Award, one of the highest honors for exceeding customer service expectations in the consumer electronics industry. 

The Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service recognize the achievements of sales, business development, customer service, and call/contact center professionals worldwide.  Over 1,000 entries were submitted for this year's awards from prestigious companies in various industries.  The international competition included companies from Canada, UK, Mexico, Panama, India, and others.  A new addition to this year's Stevie Awards is the 'The Top 10 Awards,' ten best-of-competition prizes that were awarded to the organizations that submitted the best body of work to the competition.  The winners of the Stevie Awards were honored during a gala banquet on Monday, February 25, 2013 at the Paris Hotel in Las Vegas.  More than 300 nominated customer service and sales executives from the U.S.A. and several other countries attended.

With 100% U.S. based support, VIZIO's customer service team is comprised of just over 350 employees who handled over two million contacts last year. VIZIO's support team covers TVs, PCs, sound bars, and other VIZIO flagship product lines.  Four levels of support help to ensure that customers get their queries resolved on the first call.  The team is trained to communicate with customers via social media, chat, email, phones, and the mail.   

VIZIO's Dakota Dunes Contact Center won Stevie Awards in the following categories:

- (Gold Award) VIZIO's Derek Teut - Manages to Make a Difference - Category: Manager of The Year

- (Gold Award) VIZIO's Rose Ann King - Customer Service Royalty - Category Back-Office Customer Service Professional of the Year.

- (Silver Award) VIZIO's Connected Team - Puts the Personal in Personal Computer Support - Category: Front-Line Customer Service Team of the Year, accepted by Derek Teut

- (Bronze Award) Customer Service Department of the Year - Category: All Other Industries, accepted by VP Scott Patten

- (Bronze Award) VIZIO's IT Department - Not Your Average Nerds - Category: Best Use of Technology in Customer Service, accepted by VP Scott Patten

- (Bronze Award) VIZIO's Reseller Support Team - Category: Service Team of the Year, accepted by Greta Rogers

- (Bronze Award) VIZIO's Bryna Sanchez - Genuinely Cares - Category: Young Customer Service Professional of the Year

"We're very proud that VIZIO was honored with these seven awards, marking a total of twelve Stevie Awards for our team in the past two years," said Scott Patten, V.P. of Support at VIZIO. "VIZIO's mission is helping people by understanding customer needs and delivering exceptional customer satisfaction and a great customer experience.  These awards again affirm VIZIO's reputation as the top customer service and sales support focused company. We owe this award to the hard work and dedication of our support team, who continue to make VIZIO customers satisfied. It's an honor to be selected and nominated for so many individual, departmental, and company awards."

More than 1,100 entries from organizations in various industries were submitted to this year's competition, an increase of 10% over 2012.  Finalists were determined by the average scores of 120 professionals worldwide.  Entries were considered in 30 categories for customer service professionals, including Contact Center of the Year, Award for Innovation in Customer Service, and Customer Service Department of the Year; 41 categories for sales professionals; and additional categories to recognize new products and services as well as solution providers. 

"From our perspective this was the most successful Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service yet," said Michael Gallagher, president and founder of the Stevie Awards.  "Not just because of the increase in the number and variety of entries, but in the extraordinary quality of the entries.   Judges have told me how impressed they were with the success stories they reviewed this year.  All of this year's Stevie Award winners are truly deserving."

For more information on VIZIO's award-winning service and information on its award-winning products, visit www.VIZIO.com.

About The Stevie Awards
Stevie Awards are conferred in four programs: The American Business Awards, The International Business Awards, the Stevie Awards for Women in Business, and the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service.  Honoring organizations of all types and sizes and the people behind them, the Stevies recognize outstanding performances in the workplace worldwide.  Learn more about The Stevie Awards at www.StevieAwards.com.

About VIZIO
VIZIO, Inc. is headquartered in Irvine, California. In Q2 2007, VIZIO skyrocketed to the top by becoming the #1 shipping brand of flat panel HDTVs in North America and in Q3 2007 became the first American brand in over a decade to lead in U.S. LCD HDTV shipments. Since 2007 VIZIO LCD HDTV shipments remain in the top ranks in the U.S. and were #1 for the total year in 2009 and 2010. In Q4 2012, VIZIO became America's #1 60+ inch HDTV company based on units sold. VIZIO is the #1 Sound Bar Company and is a top rated sound bar brand 2-years running by leading consumer publications. As VIZIO celebrates its 10-Year Anniversary, it remains committed to what it does best, focus on the consumer to deliver visionary products at a great value. VIZIO offers a broad range of award winning consumer electronics that now include PCs and mobility products. VIZIO's products are found at Amazon, Best Buy, BJ's Wholesale, Costco Wholesale, Sam's Club, Target, Walmart and other retailers nationwide. VIZIO has won numerous awards including a #1 ranking in the Inc. 500 for Top Companies in Computers and Electronics, "Highest in Customer Satisfaction with HDTVs" by J.D. Power and Associates and made the lists of Ad Age's Hottest Brands, CNET's Editor's Choice, CNET Best of CES 2011 - Television, Home Theater Magazine's Top Picks, Good Housekeeping's Best Big-Screens, PC World's Best Buy and Popular Mechanics Editor's Choice among many other prestigious honors. For more information, please call 888-VIZIOCE or visit www.VIZIO.com.

© 2013 VIZIO, Inc. The V, VIZIO, Thin + Light and all names, logos and phrases are registered or unregistered trademarks of VIZIO, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. All rights reserved.

¹Source:  The NPD Group's Retail Tracking Service based on units sold November 2012 - 60"+ Flat Panel HDTVs.

²Source:  The NPD Group/Retail Tracking Service Based on Units Sold January - October 2012

³J.D. Power and Associates 2012 High Definition Television (HDTV) Satisfaction Report^SM based on responses from 1,009 consumers measuring 8 brands and measures opinions of consumers who purchased an HDTV in the last 12 months. Proprietary study results are based on experiences and perceptions of consumers surveyed August 2012. Your experiences may vary. Visit www.jdpower.com.

SOURCE VIZIO, Inc.