UCAS’ social media team have been named the best in Europe for customer service, for the support they offer students applying to UK universities and colleges.
UCAS came away as winners at last night’s (Wednesday 2 October 2013) European Call Centre and Customer Service Awards in London in the ‘Best social media in customer service’ category.
The higher education admissions service triumphed over well-known brands such as EE, O2 – Telefonica UK and Sussex Police.
Stuart Balnaves, Head of Contact Centres at UCAS said: “We’re thrilled to have won the award against such strong competition.
“UCAS realised some years ago that it was second nature for students to come to social media for information about applying to higher education. We’ve worked really hard to establish ourselves in that space by being creative and dedicated to customer service.”
The UCAS Facebook page has over 70,000 likes and the Twitter account has over 50,000 followers.
Advisers are on hand throughout the year to provide help and advice on the university admissions process. At their busiest time of the year, A Level results day (Thursday 15 August 2013), the team responded to over 3,000 individual questions, providing reassuring advice at a crucial time.
The European Call Centre and Customer Service Awards have been held annually since 2010 and recognise and reward the excellence in the customer service industry.
Other winners on the night included BT (‘Best use of technology’), LV= (‘Customer resolution team of the year’) and Virgin Media (‘Customer service team of the year’). On the same day, the digital team at UCAS discovered they have been shortlisted for ‘Best Social Media Customer Service Strategy or Campaign’ at the Social Buzz Awards in November.
ENDS
Media contacts
UCAS Press Office: 01242 545 469
Notes to editors
UCAS is a charity and is the UK's shared admissions service for higher education. We manage applications from over 650,000 applicants each year for full-time undergraduate courses at over 350 universities and colleges across the UK.