Clothing, footwear and textiles retailer Edcon launched its brand new customer reward programme 'Thank U' across its leading retail brands Edgars, Edgars Active, Red Square, Boardmans, Jet, JetMart, Legit and CNA.

The new reward programme builds on the current successful reward initiatives run across the group, such as the existing CLUB programmes, but for the first time it brings all of the leading brands together into one simple proposition for customers.

Jurgen Schreiber, CEO of Edcon, said: “We know that customers shop with many of our retail brands and by having a single rewards programme, they will be able to earn points even faster.”

Enter Punchcard, a company created through the Pasadena-based business incubator, Idealab. Punchcard has created a mobile customer-loyalty app that not only benefits customers with discounts but also provides merchants with valuable information on their customers' buying habits.

Leo Temory, who owns New York Deli in Pasadena, is using the Punchcard app to better market his North Raymond Avenue restaurant.

"Sometimes you need that little help, and Punchcard really helps us keep track of the loyal customers who got us to where we are," he said. Temory said system allows New York Deli to fine-tune its marketing.

"What we really rely on right now is having all the waiters and all the employees getting to know the customers on a first-name basis," he said. "But you're really busy, and you can't track 100 customers that come into your restaurant, so the Punchcard system is going to be there to help us to track all the loyal customers. That's why we love the program."

Netflix Inc.’s customer satisfaction plunged in the fourth quarter, a reflection of consumer anger over rising prices and changes to its subscription plans, according to a survey.

Satisfaction with Netflix, the online and mail-order video service, slid 14 percent to 74 from a year earlier on a scale of 0 to 100, according to the American Consumer Satisfaction Index. That was below the 76.1 rating of all retailers and one of the biggest drops in more than 16 years of tracking, Ann Arbor, Michigan-based ASCI LLC said in a statement.

Netflix angered customers in July with a 60 percent increase in prices for users who both stream videos and get DVDs by mail. The company in September tried to rebrand the mail- order business Qwikster and force some customers to set up separate accounts, before giving up. Last week, Netflix took steps to encourage sign-ups to its DVD mail-order business.

“While the plan was abandoned and the company has since started adding subscribers, the toll on customer satisfaction is heavy and Netflix remains in a precarious position relative to the rest of the industry,” the group said in the statement.

A new research report published by Temkin Group, 2012 Temkin Experience Ratings, rates the customer experience of 206 large companies across 18 industries. This is the second year that Temkin Group has released these ratings.

The research, which is based on a survey of 10,000 U.S. consumers in January 2012, includes 13 health plans. Kaiser Permanente was the top-rated health plan, the only plan to receive an "okay" rating, but it only ranked 87th in the overall ratings. TriCare, Medicare, Aetna, United Healthcare, Humana, Empire BCBS, Blue Shield of CA, and CIGNA all received "poor" ratings. Four plans received "very poor" ratings and are ranked in the bottom seven across all 18 industries: Highmark BCBS, Health Net, Medicaid, and Anthem BCBS.

Health plans represented the lowest-rated industry, and only one of three industries to receive an average rating of "poor." The industry, however, experienced a modest improvement between 2011 and 2012.

"It's troubling that only one health plan can even achieve an okay rating; the entire industry needs a customer experience wake-up call. While it's great to see some improvement, it's not enough," states Bruce Temkin, author of the report and Managing Partner of Temkin Group.

British consumers feel the insurance industry lags behind others in how it addresses their needs and have given their strongest hint that greater simplicity would be welcomed.

They find life insurance products too complicated and are willing to switch to providers who are more transparent and communicate better, an international survey of insurance customers has found.

According to the Ernst and Young study, Brits are more demanding in their expectations of customer service and rewards for loyalty than consumers from other countries.

Ernst & Young surveyed 24,000 life and non-life insurance customers across 23 countries, including 2,000 in the UK.

Well over a third of consumers surveyed in the UK found the life and pensions products on the market too complicated and confirmed they would like to see simple and more transparent products.

In a bid to improve customer retention, and get a greater hold on serial cheapskates, group buying giant Groupon is testing a loyalty program in the US called Groupon VIP.

Last Wednesday the company sent an email to select members of its database to invite them to trial the VIP service for a three month period, the Chicago Tribune reports.

The program, which will cost $30 per year after the trial period expires, gives members early access to deals, the ability to buy previously sold out or closed deals and the luxury of anytime refunds, allowing members to swap unwanted or expired deals for Groupon dollars.

Trace Adkins has been named the spokesman for Pilot Flying J’s soon-to-be-launched loyalty program, which is set to kick off this spring. Pilot Flying J, in case you didn’t know, is the largest operator of travel centers and plazas in North America. Pro drivers, motorists and road warriors like Adkins rely on travel centers to survive while on the road.

Adkins was selected as the face of the program because blue-collar drivers, which the company serves dutifully, relate to him and he has been known as one of the hardest working man in the country genre, which fits Pilot Flying J’s mission and aesthetic as a company. Trucks keep America moving and who better to help relay that image than Adkins, a proud American who spends a lot of time on the wide open road. He knows what life is like on that endless stretch of asphalt.

“As much as I travel, my band, crew and I certainly rely on Pilot Flying J travel centers as we tour the country,” Adkins said, according to Country Music is Love. “I think all the professional drivers, business travelers and motorists on our U.S. highways and interstates would say the same. I’m proud to partner with this driver-driven company as they serve and reward the men and women who are responsible for transporting the products and services of America!”

Insights agency Nunwood has appointed Alvin Jackson for its new position as Consulting Director in the firm’s London, UK-based Customer Experience Management (CEM) team.

Alvin JacksonNunwood’s CEM division offers a comprehensive audit of all customer experience interactions, while also mapping the consumer journey to uncover insight into their needs, behaviours and motivations.

Jackson joins from CEM specialist Mulberry Consulting, where for the past eight years he has served as a Director working with clients in both the public and private sectors. Before this, he was a Senior Consultant at IBM, and he also spent a number of years at the Treasury and the European Bank for Reconstruction.

In his new role, Jackson will report to Chief Strategy Officer David Conway, who comments: ‘Alvin has worked with some of the UK's largest organisations, helping them improve their approach to customer journey management. He has a strong track record in helping clients create world class customer experiences, so he will be an invaluable member of the team.’

Pilgrim Software, Inc., a world-leading provider of Enterprise Risk, Compliance and Quality Management (ERCQM) software solutions, announced that Medela Inc., the Swiss-based leading manufacturer of breast pumps and post-natal supplies, will implement Pilgrim's Complaints Management solution for the company's Customer Services department to expedite complaint handling and associated regulatory reporting processes.

Pilgrim's Complaints Management provides Medela a single source data center for tracking and managing all customer complaints within its facilities. It enables rapid complaint resolution through its e-mail notifications, and tracking and escalation capabilities; improves the management of customer communication; and, ensures regulatory and industry compliance.

Tahlequah Public Works Authority customers may be soon participating in a customer satisfaction survey. Though members had differing opinions on the matter, the TPWA board voted Friday to engage a research agency to conduct the survey.

“We’ve talked about it in our public relations committee meeting from time to time,” said Chesney. “We talk about what level of service we are providing the customers and what level the customers are receiving.”

TPWA will contract with SDS Research to conduct individual telephone, mail and Internet interviews with customers, potential customers and employees.

Board member Herb Rozell voted against the measure, noting the need to honor proper budget spending and opportunities of service-biased feedback from account users.

With shorter wait times and a quicker response, the Department of Children and Families is continuing dramatic improvements in customer service by providing an automated response on the Customer Call Center line.

Our Customer Call Centers handle millions of calls each month from clients checking on their federal benefits, such as food assistance or Medicaid. The number of people in Florida receiving these benefits has tripled in the past four years and the increase in clients has dramatically increased the number of calls. In order to provide better service and reduce the number of calls clients made to the call center, an automated response line was implemented in January.

Previously, callers could only receive information about their case by checking their account online or speaking to an employee at the Customer Call Center. Now by calling 1-866-762-2237, customers can navigate a user-friendly system that will provide detailed information regarding their benefits. The system also allows the caller to customize the information they want to hear regarding their case.

The enhanced phone system is just one important change in the Department's ongoing effort to improve access for our customers and increase customer satisfaction. A new service planned for this summer will also give clients an estimated wait time and allow them to go on "virtual hold" so they can hang up and get a call back when an operator is available.