25+ Awesome Ideas For Celebrating Customer Service Week

Every year, the first week in October is set aside for the Customer Service Week celebration – an international event devoted to recognizing the importance of customer service and rewarding those who service and support customers each day. It is celebrated annually in over 60 countries around the world.

Around this time of the year, customer service managers and business owners are on the hunt for fun and cost-effective ideas they can use to make the customer service week memorable. Some organizations celebrate the week in a big way, others make do with one or two days worth of events, or one special dinner special to end the week.

How you decide to celebrate – big or small is a matter of time and resources. Here are 20+ awesome ideas for celebrating customer Service week for any budget.

#1. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)

This week-long event is a great time to support your community as well. For example, this time of year Christmas is almost here. Consider making a food or supplies donation to a charity or orphanage of choice.

#2. Office Buffet

Fuel your team (and customers) with food! Organize a surprise lunch or breakfast for your employees on any day during the week. This can be as simple as some snacks or as grand as having a full buffet.

#3. Internal Customer Appreciation Day

While celebrating the customers, don’t forget your internal customers. Show your colleagues you appreciate them with a thank you card, or maybe a gift. These gifts could be personalized coffee mugs, trinkets, candies, chocolate, stationery or stress balls.

#4. Office Olympics

The customer service week is supposed to be fun for both the employees & customers. Encourage a fun work environment to encourage team members to interact with each other, bond, have fun, and maybe win some prizes.

Whether you organize your own or find a venue that can help you out, having a day of sporting events is fun, competitive, and takes a lot of teamwork. Indoor games, like table tennis, table soccer or billiards will often work best.

#5. Team Puzzle Challenge

Set up a game room & give jigsaw puzzles to department heads in your organization. The challenge is for the departmental heads & their teams to work on the puzzles in the game room during their coffee or lunch breaks. The first team to complete their puzzle wins a prize.

#6. Office Decoration Contest

This activity is both fun and productive, plus it incorporates teamwork! Task each department with decorating their offices by themselves; the team with the best office design wins a prize.

#7. Tug-of-War

Divide all employees into 2 groups. Make each group hold one end of a long, solid rope. Both groups will have to pull the rope from their respective sides. The team that falls will lose the game.

#8. Dress up/Dress down day

Pick a Dress theme and give everyone the opportunity to dress up to work on a specific day dressed according to the theme e.g. Provide “Selfie-stations” or a photo booth in open areas to encourage employees to take photos.

Share these photos on social media & encourage employees to use your desired hashtag and also tag the company in photos they upload on that day.

#9. Training day

Have a very senior person in the organization give a presentation on Customer Service Excellence and remind everyone of how important customers are to the success of the organization. In the presentation, he/she should talk about the accomplishments of the company and mention how the customer service teams are a part of the success.

#10. Writing Essay Competition

You can kick the week off with a competition by asking employees to write a short essay explaining the mission and purpose of your business, or an essay on what delivering great customer service means to them. Executives pick the best essays and reward winners with gifts at the end of the week.

#11. Commendation for Service Team

Play a video compilation of recorded messages from company executives and major customers thanking the customer service team for all they do to help ensure customers are satisfied. The sales team can help gather customer testimonials. Free lunch may be organized for the team where possible.

#12. Refreshment For Customers All Week

In addition to celebrating employees, customer service week is a good time to appreciate customers. Anything from having a tea or coffee dispenser for customers, to making available cakes, cookies & sweet treats all week long for customers when they arrive would be great.

Employees who interact with the customers should encourage them to take the treats and thank them for their patronage.

#13. Call Center Tour

Another great way to celebrate the customer service week is to organize a tour of your customer service department or call center. one day during the week you can give a tour of the call center to key stakeholders and allow them to see firsthand how the call center handles enquiries for customers.

The tour group is encouraged to use that opportunity to personally appreciate the reps in any way they wish.

#14. Daily Customer Service Refresher

Every day throughout the week, share an article about customer service with all of your employees. This can be easily achieved via email. You can find a lot of articles and topics here on cxservice360. 

Share daily stories of great customer service & their learning points via email with all employees throughout the week to reconnect everyone to the importance of ensuring customers are happy and satisfied.

#15. Free Haircut & Manicure

Organize free haircut, manicure or make-up sessions for your customer service team on any day of the customer service week. Have a photo booth nearby to capture their new looks and encourage employees to tag your business handle whenever they upload their pictures on social media.

#16. Standing Ovation For Customers

Delay opening for business for a few minutes to gather a sizeable number of customers at the front door. Have employees ready, and as soon as the doors open, customers are to be welcomed in with a standing ovation and cheers by employees (you can throw in a red carpet if possible). The customers can be given branded souvenirs as a token of appreciation.

#17. Early Closure

In addition to recognition and money, another thing important to everyone is time. You can have employees close 30 minutes or an hour early on a particular day during the week.

The early closure can be rotated throughout the week to ensure every member of the team closes early on one day during the customer service week. 

#18. Work Tool Upgrades

This doesn’t immediately come to mind, but it doesn’t really add up if, after all the fun of celebrating the customer service week, employees work with faulty keyboards, broken chairs, and bad computer screens.

The customer service week is also an opportunity to empower employees with the right tools needed to deliver excellent customer service all year round. Fix broken furniture & replace faulty equipment before the customer service week activities kick in.

#19. Snack Rich Week

Ensure the office is snack-rich throughout the customer service week. Stock up on a variety of snacks and treats like – cookies, chocolate bars, sweets and drinks. Ensure it is enough to last the duration of the customer service week. 

#20. Company Outing

If you have a small team, a good way to bond and celebrate the customer service week will be to take everyone out to a fun company activity like seeing a movie, bowling, karaoke or a picnic to the beach. 

#21. Delight & Surprise A Customer

Empower employees with a gift or souvenir and task them to pick a customer (any random customer at all) and delight them by giving them the gift and thanking them just for being a customer. The employees will feel good about making someone’s day and the customer is sure to leave with a smile on their face. 

#22. Delight VIP Customers

Every business has key customers whose business results in a huge percentage of profit. If you know where these customers work or have a home address, send something to them (a candy basket, gift hamper, or box of cookies) with a personal note of appreciation from the CEO. It’ll grab their attention and make them feel valued.

#23. Teach Customers Something New

During the customer service week, organize a free event where customers can come and learn something new. It is important that what the customers are learning can also help them make the most of your product or service. That way they have a greater appreciation for your products & services.

#24. Executive Support Team

Inaugurate an Executive Support Team (EST). The team will comprise of very senior members of the organization, they will roll up their sleeves and get involved in customer support duties for an hour (or two) on any day during the customer service week. 

The EST members are expected to attend to customer emails or respond to customer enquiries during the time.  The activity is a good morale booster for junior employees and if done right, can be used as an opportunity to show everyone how customers should be treated. 

#25. Engage With Customers On Social Media

You can engage & connect better with customers on social media with special contests, trivia and exclusive promotions. Let customers win gifts or discounts by giving accurate answers to questions or carrying out a specific action. 

Ensure that your customer service team is alert and ready to attend to any customer support issues that happen on these channels during the event (and always).

#26. Annual Office Barbeque

Holding an annual barbecue for your staff during the customer service week will, definitely give them something to look forward to on a yearly basis. You can combine this with a training event or reward ceremony. 

#27. Pizza Day!

Organize an in-house pizza party during lunch hour on any day during the customer service week in celebration of your team. Place customer service quotes in the various pizza boxes for the employees to read through. 

#28. Have A Party

End the customer service week with a party! It is always a good idea to end the celebration on a happy & positive note.

Organize a party for all employees on the last day of the customer service week. Recognize employees, give out awards, have games, food & drinks and tell everyone how awesome they are. That way, employees can look toward it the following year.

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Customer Service Week Ideas For Remote workers

Even though providing a virtual customer service week celebration that measures up to in-person, in-office celebrations, the Customer service week can equally be fun for teams working remotely. Check out these ideas for your remote team

• #1. Virtual Events

The COVID-19 pandemic has made contributed to the rise of the virtual meeting and event space. As safety restrictions on in-person gatherings stay in place, virtual events have become increasingly necessary. It is equally important to leverage on virtual space to drive team bonding and engagement during the customer service week.

Scheduling time within the customer service week to host a virtual event will give the team members an opportunity to bond and feel appreciated. This video from walls.io highlights 10 virtual event ideas, which you can incorporate into your CS week celebration.

• #2. Virtual Awards & Lunch

The virtual event sets the stage to incorporate more fun activities and elements which would boost team morale and promote bonding during Customer Service Week. 

Frontline staff can be commended and appreciated with virtual currency such as gift cards during the virtual event. Throwing in meals for the participants would make it even more exciting! Platforms like Hoppier offer a large selection of food vendors which makes it possible for people to order their favourite meals and drinks, anywhere in the world with ease.

• #3. Virtual Tours

A virtual tour for the team is another way you can celebrate the CS Week with your remote team. Team members can visit fun places such as the Eiffel Tower, Great wall of china, Disney Land, Planet Mars and others from the comfort of their home/office.

Whether you have a lean or massive budget, there are lots of ways you can make the customer service week fun and memorable. Build on these ideas and come up with something fun for your team.