Cebuana Lhuillier was named as one of the winners of the recently-concluded 2021 International Service Excellence Awards organized by the Customer Service Institute of America (CSIA). CSIA cited the company’s push in digitalizing its customer response, paving the way for faster communication between the three-decade-old company and its millions of loyal clients.
The company bagged the Customer-focused Innovations nod due to its development of creative and inventive means of engagement and product usage, with the following milestones considered as game changers in its industry: CEB, Cebuana Lhuillier’s very own Intelligent Virtual Assistant; Cebuana-from-Home, an online platform which provides clients with a 360-degree access to Cebuana Lhuillier’s suite of services, and the eCebuana App, among others. Cebuana Lhuillier’s commitment to further improving client experience and engagement through technological innovations also impressed the judges.
“This recognition is a huge honor for us here at Cebuana Lhuillier, especially for our Customer Service team. As we see a continuous push for more product and service innovations to answer our clients’ changing needs, we also remain committed to improving how serve them—with emphasis nowadays on faster, more efficient, and more convenient service delivery,” shared Jean Henri Lhuillier, President & CEO of Cebuana Lhuillier.
“Our step towards digitalization is our response to this. By coming up with innovative digital solutions and making them available to every Ka-Cebuana, we provide them with options to better enjoy and appreciate our services, whether online or offline. More than just solutions, these innovations highlight how for Cebuana Lhuillier, our clients remain the heart of our organization,” he adds.
Marissa Ancog, Cebuana Lhuillier First Vice President and Group Head for Planning and Quality Management, emphasized the importance of finding solutions that best serve the clients’ needs. “Making our clients happy has always been the core of what we do. As our clients’ needs evolve through time, the same goes with the level of service we provide—whether online, through our Customer Care hotline, or our branches. Aside from finding the best solutions through technology to help our Ka-Cebuanas, we also make sure that our frontliners are ready, well-trained, and well-informed at all times.”
Cebuana Lhuillier’s foray into digitalization of its products and services including client engagement started more than two years ago, in a move that signified the pivot of the thirty-year-old brand to a Fintech company. Ultimately, the innovations including the continued improvement of systems used in branches, access to services through mobile apps, easier communication to clients through the use of social media and bots, an upgraded and improved customer service hotline, have benefited customers who were able to experience a faster, more convenient level of service.
This also allowed the company to pivot and adjust faster to the needs of its clients with the implementation of a strict lockdown in the Philippines in 2020, following the spread of the COVID-19. Through the programs and applications put in place, clients were still able to have safe and efficient access to micro-financial solutions, especially during the most challenging period of last year when majority of banks and financial institutions were closed.
The International Service Excellence Awards serve as the global benchmark for innovative and noteworthy customer service, recognizing brands and individuals worldwide for their exceptional work. This year, Cebuana Lhuillier had the distinction of being the only Philippine-based brand awarded this merit. The company is a consistent awardee from the award-giving body, notching the following wins under its belt in the last three years: 2020 International Service Excellence Award Customer-Focused Innovations Category, 2019 International Service Excellence Award – Large Business Category, and 2018 International Service Excellence Award – Best of the Best Category. The awards are managed by CSIA, as assigned by the International Council of Customer Service Organizations (ICCSO).
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