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J.D. Power and Associates Reports: Bank of America Merrill Lynch Retirement Contact Centers Recognized for Providing an Outstanding Customer Service Experience for a Seventh Consecutive Year

July 27, 2011

J.D. Power and Associates Reports:
Bank of America Merrill Lynch Retirement Contact Centers Recognized for Providing an Outstanding Customer Service Experience for a Seventh Consecutive Year

WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif.: Bank of America Merrill Lynch has been recognized for call center operation customer satisfaction excellence for a seventh consecutive year under the J.D. Power and Associates Call Center Certification Program.SM The Call Center Certification Program distinction acknowledges a strong commitment by the Bank of America Merrill Lynch Retirement Contact Centers call center operation to provide “An Outstanding Customer Service Experience.”

Bank of America Merrill Lynch’s Retirement Contact Centers, located in Hopewell, N.J., and Jacksonville, Fla., handle nearly 2.6 million telephone and e-mail inquiries from clients annually. To become certified, the contact centers successfully passed a detailed audit of more than 100 practices that encompass the call center’s customer satisfaction measurement and analysis strategies, recruiting, training, employee incentives, quality assurance capabilities, and management roles and responsibilities. As part of its evaluation, J.D. Power and Associates conducted a random survey of Bank of America Merrill Lynch clients who recently contacted its contact centers.

“In achieving certification for a seventh consecutive year, Bank of America Merrill Lynch Retirement Services has demonstrated once again that it is a highly customer-focused organization,” said Mark Miller, senior director of the global contact center practice at J.D. Power and Associates. “Call center representatives receive high ratings for courtesy and are viewed as very knowledgeable by clients, which is vital to achieving high customer satisfaction in the complex business that they are in.”

“Our business revolves around the quality and consistency of client experiences across multiple communication channels, be they in-person, online, over the phone or via email,” said Mark Alexander, head of Bank of America Global Wealth & Investment Management Technology & Operations. “Participating in the J.D. Power call center certification program gives us an objective benchmark to measure how well we are serving our clients.”

For certification status, a call center must also perform within the top 20 percent of customer service scores, which are based on benchmarks established in J.D. Power and Associates’ cross-industry customer satisfaction research. The evaluation criteria include the customer service representative’s courtesy, knowledge and concern for the customer; promptness in speaking to a person; and timely resolution of the problem or request. Additionally, the experience with the automated phone system is evaluated based on the clarity of the information provided, the ease of navigating the phone menu prompts and the ease of understanding the phone menu instructions.

“We are committed to delivering outstanding service to the millions of individuals who participate in our retirement and benefit plans,” said Andy Sieg, head of Retirement & Philanthropic Services for Bank of America Merrill Lynch. “Our corporate clients and their employees rely on and turn to us for this high quality service.”

The Call Center Certification Program was launched by J.D. Power and Associates in 2004 to evaluate overall customer satisfaction with call centers and to help call centers in various industries increase their efficiency and effectiveness by establishing and continually updating leading practices for handling service calls.

For more information on the Call Center Certification Program, please visit JDPower.com.

 
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