Company: ShareBuilder by Capital One
Company Description: More than a decade has passed since ShareBuilder entered the fray of online brokerages, and our core values continue to separate us from the pack. We believe the world of investing is not just reserved for savvy, Wall Street investors – which is why we’re devoted to helping everyday Americans achieve their financial goals.
Nomination Category: Customer Service Awards Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Customer Service Team of the Year

Nomination Title: ShareBuilder's Customer Advocate Team

Tell the story about what this nominated team achieved since January 1 2012 year (up to 525 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:

The Customer Advocate Team

For many Customer Service departments, escalated issues arrive and end at the supervisor level. ShareBuilder has a team of supervisors who are devoted to customer satisfaction; however, we know that some situations require special attention. That’s why we created the Customer Advocate team, with the sole responsibility of taking on complicated cases to ensure customers receive the best possible experience. If a customer threatens a complaint, legal action, or is just unhappy with a situation in general, the Customer Advocate Team is there is help. We serve as the “canaries in the coal mine” sent out to look for possible issues and resolve them before they become formal complaints or even litigation.

Successes in 2012

After the Customer Advocate Team receives a case from a Customer Service Associate, we work behind the scenes with key constituents from departments across the organization. We serve as a liaison with our back office processes like the Trading department or Cashiering, IT and Product for possible website issues, and with Legal and Compliance on the really tough cases. Our team works directly with the floor supervisors, from editing email responses, reviewing calls for feedback, or taking over the case for highly escalated situations. We’ve even been able to make suggestions on improvements like enhancements in IPO trading, clearer wording on our promotions, adding needed forms to account setup, and providing feedback on new website updates to proactively look for possible issues that can hang up a customer.

In order to better support our Customer Service Associates in 2012, we integrated our Customer Advocate Review process into our Customer Relationship Management system. This streamlined our process and improved tracking and reporting. Associates are able to make their case notes, request help, and get an answer all in one place. In 2012, 776 total inquiries were sent to Customer Advocate by the Customer Service team.

The team was really put to the test in May of 2012. The largest IPO in history hit the marketplace causing a market glitch that impacted customers across the entire brokerage industry. We handled 230 cases (30% of complaints for the entire year) during the week after the IPO and avoided litigation because of proactive communication and prompt issue resolution.

We’ve even been able to turn frowns upside down in Social Media. Customer Service Associates monitor our Facebook and Twitter pages and route complaints over to us immediately. In one case, we were able to turn a Tweet that complained about our service to a follow-up Tweet with a #thanks the very same day.

The Customer Advocate Team is part of Customer Service’s Support Team which is appropriately aligned with Communications, Process Improvement, and Training. We identify complaint trends and communicate with the rest of the group in order to decide how to mitigate complaints. Based on trends, additional communications may be sent, trainings scheduled or processes redesigned. This method has had great success in mitigating complaints and finding resolutions with escalated customers, some of which go from threatening legal action to singing our praises

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Provide a brief (up to 125 words) biography about the leader(s) of the nominated team:

Bob Weintraub           
Head of Customer Service

With contagious enthusiasm, Bob encourages a challenging and rewarding work environment and has a direct hand in hiring and developing only the best people. He oversees day-to-day operations for our contact centers and maintains a down-to-earth demeanor while leading multiple groups including Sales Associates, Coaches, Systems/Workforce Management, Communications and Training. Bob is also known to dance on the desks of Associates who pass their licensing exams. His genuinely positive attitude has earned him the nickname “Good News Bob.” 

Bob joined ShareBuilder in 2006 as the Director of 401(k) Sales. He began his Customer Service journey in January 2009. Bob holds an Executive MBA from the University of Washington and attended the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, VA.