Company: Kanyon, Istanbul, Turkey
Entry Submitted By: Hooper Consulting International
Company Description: Kanyon is a luxury commercial complex consisting of residences, office tower and shopping center. Its award- winning design is patterned after its name.
Nomination Category: Customer Service & Call Center Team Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Customer Service Complaints Team of the Year

Nomination Title: Kanyon's Customer Service Complaints Team

Tell the story about what this nominated team achieved since the beginning of July last year (up to 500 words). Focus on specific accomplishments, and relate these accomplishments to past performance or industry norms. Be sure to mention obstacles overcome, innovations or discoveries made, and outcomes:

Going the extra mile:; even if it’s a complaint

How did a luxury shopping-residential-office complex in Istanbul rise to
excellence during recession-riddled 2009?; Kanyon’s Customer Service
Complaints Team rose to the fore by defying Turkish societal values…and turned
complaints into kudos in virtually all areas of the complex.

Luxury is alive and well in Turkey’s financial district, where a lavish
shopping center was born in 2007.; Kanyon had its work cut out to satisfy its
diverse customer base of high society shoppers, top level executives and
affluent residents, all with varying wants and needs.;

While Turkish hospitality literally is legendary, the art and science of
handling complaints remains at primitive levels.; In Turkey, people take their
jobs very personally…which is both a strength and a weakness.; Since employee
motivation and recognition are not common either, most people wonder “what’s
in it for me,” and think it’s unfair to give more when they’re not being
compensated or recognized for it, and have the “it’s not my job” mentality.;
Lacking internal motivation, people in Turkish workplaces largely take
personal offense at criticism and react defensively, which only worsens the
customer experience.;

So how did Kanyon overturn societal ambivalence and inspire its Turkish
Customer Service Complaints Team to form new attitudes about customer
service?; They set complaints management up like a relay.; Aside from soccer,
team sports do not play an active role in Turkish society.; But the relay
concept is well known, allowing for individual excellence with a team win.;
Bottom line, like its long and winding corridors, Kanyon’s Customer Service
Complaints Team geared up to go the extra mile: a novelty in the Turkish
workplace.

Like the members of a relay team, all 350+ employees stepped up to provide
excellence in the treatment of customer complaints.; Here’s how they did it:
Each Monday, all employees – salaried and outsourced alike -; were represented
at Customer Service Complaints meeting where weekly Customer Complaints
reports were summarized, discussed and actions planned.
Innovative management built on existing Turkish values to the benefit of their
customers, such as:

•Treat every customer like they would treat their dearest friend. This
attitude motivated team members not to skimp on service, not be mediocre or
run of the mill like the competition.; In turn, Kanyon’s team showed people
what they were capable of, that they cared about Kanyon’s image and
reputation.
• Quietly handle issues.; Turkish people do not like to convey negative
news.; So the team members themselves devised Complaint Reports they
themselves could write based on quiet observation of their customers (see
samples attached).

How was Kanyon’s Customer Service Complaint Team willing to go the extra
mile?; Team members themselves defined what kind of extra services they were
willing to provide in order to stand out from the rest and preserve Kanyon’s
promise of the highest quality retail shopping, living and working
experience.;

Kanyon’s Complaints Team demonstrated that when it comes to success, the
people who are willing to go the extra mile get there that much faster. As a
result, complaints in 2009 were down 30%.

List hyperlinks to any online news stories, press releases, or other documents that support the claims made in the section above. IMPORTANT: Begin each link with http://, and enclose each link in square brackets; for example, [http://www.youraddress.com]:

http://thestevies.com/SASCS09Attachments/Kanyon/

Provide a brief (up to 100 words) biography about the leader(s) of the nominated team:

Tuncer Kinikli, Director of Operations for Kanyon since its inception, brings
20 years' experience in engineering, project management and operations to his
position. His passion for the environment and customer service is evidenced by
the book he is writing about increasing energy efficiency in buildings, plus
developing software about creating efficiency in operations and customer
service.

Aliye Esrefoglu, Customer Service Manager since 2007, brings her passion for
unrelenting excellence to her position.; Degreed in economics, she manages a
staff of 12 people, plus 350 mall workers. She looks after the office tenants,
retailers and restaurants, residents and daily visitors, totally 35,000 people
per day.