What should we rename our department?

Welcome to Fluther.

My answer would sort of depend on the nature of the business, who commonly contacts you for service, and the type of service you provide. (Also, but secondarily, how “funky” do you want to be? The “corporate” world generally more often than not sometimes aims for clarity and comprehension in department naming, but a small boutique clothing store, for example, may be more open to funkiness. (I’d call that customer service department “Loose Threads”, for example.)

“Customer Service” has always seemed to work pretty well. What’s wrong with that, except that it’s not “funky”?

Hi. Thanks for the reply. Actually, right now, the department is called “Contact Center”. We are in a storage services so I accept we cannot have a funky name. I used that word in the hopes of getting a wide variety of names. We’re looking for some imaginative names before settling for Customer Service, which we all believe to be boring. I hope you understand.

Customer Help And Issue Resolution. CHAIR.

The Help Box?

As fun as something like “Geek Squad” or “Genius Bar” or “Storage Army” might seem to marketers, I find that it is simply giving customers one more task before they can get the help they need. They are forced to translate marketing nonsense in order to find what they are looking for: customer service/support. Make it easy for them.

From a customer service rep, please, please PLEASE spare your employees the hassle.

The main job of a Customer Service department is to make life a little bit easier for the customer.

Think of the person calling in to your business. When they get your call center, what do you want them to hear?

(call center rep): “Thank you for phoning [company]. This is [name] in Satisfaction Action!”
(customer): “Uh… I had a question about ________. Is this customer service?”
(rep): “Yes! How can I help?”

Honestly, cut 15 seconds out of every single conversation, and just call the place Customer Service.

What @Seek_Kolinahr and @tom_g say makes sense.

Customer Utility National Trading

I agree with @Seek_Kolinahr
Anything different will only increase the call load for customers complaining they can’t find the Customer Service department.

This is one area where you do not want to get cute. You will trigger even more customeer rage than will normally be present.

Customer Service (even though it may well be Customer Disservice.)

@Greyrat, sometimes boring is good. Remember that a customer who calls already has a problem and is probably already annoyed and frustrated.

I understand that you have to look at the name, say it, and hear it a hundred times a day. But the customer hopes to encounter it no more than once (ever) and will not be in any mood to play guessing games. Of all departments in the company, nobody should be more accommodating than Customer Service. Please try to make it painless for the caller.

“Customer Service” is better than “Contact Center.” If you can’t improve on that, it’s best to leave it alone.

Welcome to Fluther!

Here’s another vote for keeping the name obvious and simple. The hotel company I worked for called this dept. Guest Assistance. They referred to themselves internally with a tagline of being the safety net, meaning their objective was to satisfy every customer.

Thank you so much guys for the wonderful replies. Actually we’re looking to not put customer/client in the department’s name. Any suggestions?

@filmfann Thanks :) People here really like CHAIR. Do you have more ideas? Much appreciated!

You might as well call it “The Unemployment Office” as call it “CHAIR”. I thought that was a joke.

If you want to leave out “Customer” (for who knows what reason), then just call it “Service”. That’s common in auto dealerships, for example.

Again @Greyrat, what’s the logic behind not calling the department what it is? Is it for your own amusement, or the best interest of your customers?

Answer that, and think really hard about your answer, and whether it’s the right one for your company.