For Immediate Release: June 22, 2023
Kelly Cannon
Kelly.Cannon@BlueKC.com
O: 816-395-3711
KANSAS CITY, MO. (June 22, 2023)—In recognition of its continued commitment to customer service, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City (Blue KC) was honored to receive multiple Call Center Customer Service Industry Awards of Excellence from Service Quality Management (SQM), a survey vendor that benchmarks over 500 customer service centers across North America.
Since 1996, SQM has been a Customer Service First Call Resolution (FCR) Expert for measuring, tracking, and improving FCR. Conducting over 25,000 surveys annually with employees who work in call centers, SQM also boasts one of the largest customer and employee survey databases in North America. Based on customer and employee studies, SQM awards excellence in FCR, customer satisfaction, and employee satisfaction for the call center industry. SQM’s Call Center Customer Service Industry Awards of Excellence are considered North America’s most prestigious and sought-after customer service industry awards.
“One of our top priorities at Blue KC is to deliver on the promises made to our members, and that starts with providing the highest quality customer experience,” said Gratia Carver, Vice President and Chief Experience Officer. “We strongly believe we have one of the best service teams in the industry, so it’s very gratifying to again be recognized by an organization like SQM. Our employees continue to rise to the challenge.”
Blue KC was recognized in numerous categories for Customer Experience Excellence by SQM, including:
- Call Center of the Year Award Finalist
- Company with the highest combined First Call Resolution (FCR) and Employee Experience (EX) ratings.
- Call Center World Class FCR Certification
- Based on 80% of customers rating their call resolved on the first call (FCR).
- Highest Employee Experience for the Contact Center Industry Award
- Organization with highest overall call center employee experience.
- World Class Employee Experience Award
- Call centers with highest employee satisfaction ratings.
- CX Best Practice – Agent Coaching & Training Program
Multiple Blue KC employees were recognized by SQM for their outstanding customer service:
- Supervisor of the Year Finalist
- Gina Beaver (Commercial)
- Agent of the Year Finalist
- Carol Lewis (Commercial)
- Dana Plowman (Commercial)
- Ryan Hardin (Commercial)
- Julie Morris (FEP)
Seven Blue KC Supervisors and eight Leads achieved World Class Certification status from SQM:
- WORLD CLASS CERTIFIED SUPERVISORS
- Gina Beaver
- Tina Gasper
- Amy Munger
- Glenda Noel-Brown
- Shantenie Tyner
- Casandra White
- Kalila Williams
- WORLD CLASS CERTIFIED SUPERVISORS
- Aimee Brisco
- Randalyn Campbell
- Branden Lee
- Lindsey Petrin
- Renee Rinehart
- Tracy Shifflett
- Trish Smith, FEP
- LaToya Witherspoon
In addition, 64 Blue KC customer advocates were named World Class Certified Customer Advocates by SQM:
| Sharron Alfred | Vera Hancock | Laura Puthoff |
| Chris Arganbright | Ryan Hardin | Ashley Rhode-Allen |
| Kelly Beaver | Jenny Hoogendoorn | McKenna Rose |
| Ashley Bratton | Matasha Jackson | Sabrina Scroggins |
| Nekeisha Buckley | Jasamine Jones | Angela Seals |
| Jon Burns | Julie Kramer | Crystal Smith |
| Collin Bustamante | Laura Kudrin | Trish Smith |
| Mia Canady | Matthew Lange | Ariana Starks |
| Kim Cetrangelo | Kaylee Larabee | Angie Stuart |
| M’Kaela Cole | Carol Lewis | Lizbeth Stypolkowski |
| Lauria Comley | Regina Lewis | Dystenee’ Swink |
| Keshauna Crawford | Trisha Martin | Sonya Taylor |
| Karrie Cunning | Allison Mayer | Suzanne Tobin |
| Gina Dudley | Kayla McLeod | Valencia Tribitt |
| Candy Duncan | Mary Miller | Dawn Uthe |
| Kayla Evans | Victoria Mitchell | Lori Walters |
| Tish Ewing | MacKenzie Moore | Cheena Wanamaker |
| Victoria Ferguson | Janine Morgan | Levi White |
| Mindy Floray | Julie Morris | Lacey Williams |
| Wes Fuller | Jarvis Morrison | LeShea Wright |
| D’Nae Gardner | Dana Plowman | |
| Dana Giles | Rebecca Prather |
Blue KC’s customer service and designated employees were recognized during SQM’s 24th annual awards ceremony held at The Coeur d’Alene Resort in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, May 17 – 18, 2023.
To learn more about Blue KC’s commitment to member satisfaction, please visit BlueKC.com/consumer/blue-kc/about.
About Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City, the largest not-for-profit health insurer in Missouri and the only not-for-profit commercial health insurer in Kansas City, has been part of the Kansas City community since 1938. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City provides health coverage services to more than one million residents in the greater Kansas City area, including Johnson and Wyandotte counties in Kansas and 30 counties in Northwest Missouri. Our mission: to provide affordable access to healthcare and to improve the health of our members. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. For more information on the company, visit its website at BlueKC.com.
