Two Important Announcements!


Call for Nominations

Chosen as the best in what they do, many companies delivering technical support for service and support customers have been awarded the highest honor in the service and support industry- The SSPA STAR Award. The STAR Award winners are all exceptional companies that deliver world-class support. This industry-wide recognition is unlike any other because a panel of their peers evaluates each company application and determines that they deliver the best service possible.

Since its inception in 1990, the SSPA STAR Award has been presented to a wide-variety of companies including Best Software; Mentor Graphics; Software AG; Oracle; Microsoft; Hewlett-Packard; Aspen Technology; EMC; SAS Institute, to name just a few.

It's true that some of these organizations are household names, while others may not be as widely known. But regardless of their size, each company holds one important distinction: it has won a SSPA STAR Award within the past twelve years. And that alone speaks volumes about the dedication these organizations display in delivering outstanding service and support to their customers.

Let me begin by stating that SSPA Membership is the only criterion that needs to be met in order to submit an application for the STAR Award...and that's all! Of course, you will need to present some "award winning" facts and figures in order to compete against the best in the business. But all SSPA member support centers are eligible to nominate themselves in any number of the categories.

Upon receipt of the completed application, the SSPA's Advisory Board -- comprised of senior support executives from some of the world's leading software companies -- thoroughly reviews each submission, benchmarks it against a set of fixed criteria for that category, and selects a winner.

So if you believe that your support center delivers an exceptional brand of service and support -- and you'd like the world to know about it -- I strongly urge you to participate in the 2003 STAR Awards, which represents one of the most valuable symbols of service excellence in the industry, and it's available only to SSPA members! To request a Nomination Form, please contact Ron Johnson at rjohnson@thesspa.com.

Call for Speakers
SSPA Conference@Savannah
September 29 –October 1, 2003

Focus on The Future of Support Services is the theme of this year’s Conference. SSPA Conference at Savannah is "the" event where the future of the Service and Support industry comes together in a fusion of visionary key note addresses, vibrant tracks and workshops, interactive forums, fun networking events, informative exhibits and a special dinner featuring the SSPA STAR Award winners -- all in the heart of America's most magical city, Savannah Georgia.

The Conference will open on Monday afternoon, September 29th with a general session comprised of three dynamic keynote presentations. The annual SSPA STAR Awards presentations reception and dinner will follow that evening.

The second day will feature five tracks each with six focused sessions for a total of 30 sessions guaranteed to prepare you to deal with the critical aspects of managing a support center in the future.

Track #1- The Future of Support Technology
These sessions will focus on support technology including web-based tools, solutions and futuristic methods to resolve customer issues. Included will be presentations on state-of-the-art technology implementation, vendor products/services and case studies.

Track #2- The Future of Customer Demands
The focus here will be on how will the customer change and look in 2003, 2004 and beyond. Will their demands change? Their loyalty? Will we need to change the way we measure customer satisfaction? Discussion will include community service vs. customer service and moving from reactive to proactive.

Track #3- The Future of The Support Executive
These sessions will include individual experience presentations and a roundtable discussion in an open forum with idea sharing and “group think”- all focused on issues unique to executives. Attendees should have a title of Director or above.

Track #4- The Future of Managing People
Service and support is a people-intensive business. The focus here will be on recruiting, motivating, training, and retaining your best people. Will the needs of the support rep change in the future? What will their profile look like? How will changing certification, training and experience requirements affect your support center profile?

Track #5- Delivering World-Class Services In The Future
A showcase of companies that deliver world-class service and support. Presentations by people from award winning companies, with proven records, who will share their ideas, concepts and methods that will guide you to your own world-class service. These are “The Best of The Best”!

Day three will spotlight five informative workshops giving you the opportunity to learn from the top leaders in the industry on some of the most important aspects of successful support center management. The workshops are designed to explore an issue in depth with more attendee interaction and “hands-on” experiences. Five different topical areas will be presented by some of the top consulting, training and technology companies in our industry. Attendees will have the opportunity to pick the workshop in which they wish to participate in these interactive sessions.

To inquire about being a speaker, please send an email to Ron Johnson at rjohnson@thesspa.com.

And don’t forget to Save These Dates – September 29-October 1, 2003-- and join us in Savannah a jewel on the east coast of the United States, a leading tourist center and the most historical city in Georgia. Savannah, a vibrant seaport since its beginning, is situated at the mouth of the Savannah River, which forms the border between Georgia and South Carolina.

Sincerely,

Bill Rose
Founder/CEO