Celebrate National Customer Service Week with swag

National Customer Service Week is rarely a big deal at our office. Management never goes above and beyond to celebrate our in-house customer service team or our customers, for that matter! This year, we have a new head of marketing, Ari, and she was determined to turn our non-existent party into a big celebration. 

The first thing she did for National Customer Service Week 2023 was to establish a party planning team. After seeking upper management and corporate permission, she selected five people to join her and plan our Customer Service Day 2023. 

Because National Customer Service Day was never a significant event in our office, we truly didn't know where to begin. In fact, our office didn't celebrate much. The occasional birthday here and there, and even that person had to bring in their own decorations, cake or cupcakes, and drinks for everyone. 

Ari couldn't believe how little we celebrated and gave a motivating speech on how parties, gifts, and positive events can raise morale and unite employees. By the end of it, we were looking forward to the planning process and getting excited to connect with our customers and each other. 

We started by choosing prizes for giveaways for our clients and employees and presents for the customer service team. SwagMagic and SnackMagic allow businesses to curate products for their brand for the purpose of employee and customer gifts and giveaways. 

Ari introduced us to the respective websites, and we spent hours browsing the custom swag and curated snack boxes, choosing the perfect items for our team members and clients. Even management was getting excited as the party came together. It was nice to see everyone interacting and working together on a project that would celebrate our team members while rewarding old clients and attracting new ones.

We were sailing along seamlessly with our plans until management came in and threw a wrench in our project, announcing that we would have to develop Customer Service Week Ideas on a budget. We'd always had a budget, but the starting one was much larger than the one that he was currently proposing. 

Groans and protests came from the party planning team, but Ari just smiled and took it in stride. She turned out to be correct, as usual, and we were able to sit down and cut a few things that weren't necessary, such as the catering team. 

Instead of eliminating our Customer Service Week gift ideas for the team and customers, we replaced our catered food with a potluck. We would no longer have fancy servers, but everyone from the group would bring something to eat, and we would serve ourselves buffet-style. 

It may not have been the prestigious event Ari originally had in mind, but it was more than we were used to! Our Customer Service Week gifts stayed the same, as SwagMagic and SnackMagic allowed us to stay on our budget and on track with their reasonable pricing and accommodating ship times. 

Working as a team, we came up with Customer Service Week activities virtual based that our remote team would love and stuck to our Customer Service Week ideas on a budget. We invented games that were free of cost, such as virtual truth or dare, an employee version of "Guess Who," and trivia. 

Even with a lower budget, we had dozens of Customer Service Week ideas that we couldn't wait to share with everyone. Our Customer Service Week ideas for remote employees would make them feel like they were in the office with us, and we were thrilled to help them feel super included. 

Our National Customer Service Week ideas were unlike anything we'd ever planned in our office before. As news of our party spread through the office, people began contributing money to the party fund. We couldn't believe it, but before we knew it, we had enough money for the swag, snack boxes, and to bring back our fancy catered menu!

Ari was so excited, and we were beyond grateful for our team members and their donations. Management was finally seeing us truly work together for the first time, and it was also bleeding over into our daily work. 

As our team grew closer, helping each other on work projects and getting together to grab lunch, we discussed the upcoming event, how much fun it would be, and how it would inevitably bring in new clients and customers. We were most excited about our Customer Service Week games, especially the employee version of "Guess Who," which would now be a little easier since we were all becoming friends and hanging out more. 

The remote team was excited about our Customer Service Week activities virtual, as they rarely got to interact with all of us in any other setting than a boring afternoon meeting. Our Customer Service Week ideas on a budget were successful, and we showed management how we could come together to plan, work, and collaborate. 

The week of the party arrived, and we began to create social media awareness, set up our large warehouse for food, games, and prizes, and sorted our beautiful SwagMagic swag into game prizes, customer giveaways, and gift baskets for our customer service team, as this week was as much about them as it was our clients. 

Our Customer Service Week themes were rooted heavily in celebrating our team members and clients. We took the fancy route, primarily because we'd raised enough money, offering delicious appetizers served on sterling silver trays, while we played carnival games and won customized branded prizes. 

The Customer Service Week 2023 theme could have been labeled "Appreciation." We were all grateful for one another, our jobs, our clients, our newly engaged management team, and of course, marketing manager Ari, who made all of this possible with a bit of inspiration. Honestly, coming to work was not enjoyable, and it was like working with a brand new team, though nothing had changed. 

Our Customer Service Week message was a positive one. We ensured our customers knew how much we appreciated them with a curated customer appreciation message. We sent Customer Service Week messages to employees, thanking them for all they do, and shared Customer Service Week quotes on social media. 

Our clients responded really well to our endeavor, especially as our team members shared the Customer Service Week message to employees we sent. It was a fantastic and transparent glimpse into how our business operates, and seeing employee appreciation on social channels drove customer sales. 

Overall, our customers and employees loved the swag we handed out, both with qualifying purchases and game prizes. All customer service team members received swag and snack boxes curated just for them. The response was so impressive that Ari got a promotion, and we're all planning the party for next year. 

We had a massive influx of new clients, and many returned for repeat business after experiencing our online events. Our first official celebration was an incredible experience, and we cannot wait to plan more parties in the future!