Company: Recharge, Santa Monica, CA
Nomination Submitted by: Recharge
Company Description: Recharge Payments, based in Santa Monica, CA, is a leading subscription management platform empowering eCommerce businesses to transform transactions into recurring revenue. Seamlessly integrating with Shopify and BigCommerce, Recharge offers flexible billing, analytics, and AI-driven tools to optimize growth. With a focus on innovation and customer success, Recharge helps merchants build loyalty.
Nomination Category: Customer Service & Call Center Awards Achievement Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Award for Innovation in Customer Service - Computer Industries
 Nomination Title: Recharge
- Which will you submit for your nomination in this category, a video of up to five (5) minutes, explaining the nominated achievement since July 1, 2022, OR written answers to the questions? (Choose one):
Written answers to the questions
- If you are submitting a video of up to five (5) minutes in length, provide the URL of the video here, OR attach it to your entry via the "Add Attachments, Videos, or Links to This Entry" link above, through which you may also upload a copy of your video. If you are submitting written answers to the questions for this category, provide them in the spaces below.
- Briefly describe the nominated organization: its history and past performance (up to 200 words):
Total 194 words used.
In 2022, Recharge redefined what it means to deliver exceptional customer service by forming the "Innovation Team" within its Technical Support department. This visionary move broke industry norms by dedicating a team of developers, not to product creation, but to enhancing the internal tools and systems used by Support agents. Recharge recognized the untapped potential in this approach—believing that empowering agents with better tools directly improves the customer experience.
The Innovation Team, comprised of Diego Bechi, Chris Burge, and Dave Inden, and led by Evangeline Couling, revolutionized the way issues are diagnosed and resolved. By creating intuitive, efficient tools that streamline troubleshooting, the team enabled agents to focus on what truly matters: solving customer problems quickly and effectively. This strategic investment in internal development has already demonstrated significant results, reducing time-to-resolution for complex technical issues and enhancing customer satisfaction.
Recharge's commitment to innovation goes beyond reactive support. The Innovation Team continues to proactively evolve the support landscape, setting a new industry standard and proving that investing in the success of support agents is a direct investment in customer success.
Recharge’s bold decision demonstrates its forward-thinking ethos and unyielding commitment to providing unparalleled customer service.
- Explain why the achievement you have highlighted is unique or significant. If possible compare the achievement to the performance of other players in your industry and/or to the organization's past performance (up to 250 words):
Total 244 words used.
Since the launch of Recharge's AI support, the leap in performance has been remarkable. Response times have plummeted from 6.3 hours to just 0.34 hours. Even more impressive, while similar initiatives often result in customer dissatisfaction, Recharge’s CSAT scores surged from 88.9% to 96.6%. These statistics aren’t merely data points; they reflect the exceptional coordination and effort driving these results.
Beyond AI, a comprehensive audit of Zendesk data and processes has greatly enhanced the experience for both agents and customers. The Innovation Team removed 65% of outdated organizations, established accurate UUIDs linked to Salesforce, and implemented processes to ensure consistent data linkage. Additionally, they eliminated 52% of installed apps, 60% of API tokens, 50% of webhooks, 58% of unused triggers, and 79% of erroneous macros—leading to notable improvements in system performance and security. Automation advancements also reduced Zendesk API usage from 500 to just 10 requests per minute.
Recharge’s time-tracking tools have transformed reporting capabilities, enabling real-time insights into agent performance and ticket resolution efficiency across channels. This comprehensive view of time use within the support workflow empowers managers to make data-driven decisions on staffing, workload adjustments, and training needs, boosting productivity and elevating service quality.
None of this would have been possible without the Innovation Team—a pioneering initiative in its own right. Recharge is setting an industry standard by dedicating developers solely to enhancing the support experience, a bold and innovative approach that further distinguishes Recharge’s commitment to excellence.
- Outline the nominated achievement since July 1 2022 that you wish to bring to the judges' attention (up to 250 words):
Total 233 words used.
Recharge’s partnership with Ada to launch an AI-driven, chat-first support model exemplifies its commitment to elevating customer interactions. This model isn’t just ambitious—it’s inherently challenging, as many organizations risk compromising customer experience during such transitions. However, the Innovation Team’s careful planning and execution enabled a seamless rollout, garnering no negative feedback from customers. Thanks to this innovative approach, response times have been reduced from hours to minutes, and customer satisfaction scores have surged to industry-leading levels.
Moreover, Recharge’s support experience is only as robust as the data it maintains. To enhance this foundation, the Innovation Team initiated a comprehensive data audit, yielding transformative outcomes. By implementing a UUID (Universally Unique Identifier) system, the team created a direct link between the CRM (Customer Relationship Management) and ticketing systems. This integration automated entitlements and provided valuable client data to revenue partners, marking a first in Recharge's support framework and setting a new benchmark for CRM coherence.
Lastly, the Innovation Team developed an advanced time-tracking solution that seamlessly integrates workforce data with support ticket information, providing a granular view of time allocation and productivity. This tool captures precise time entries directly within tickets, enabling management to analyze time spent on individual tasks, case types, and customer interactions. With this data, managers can better assess workload distribution, identify areas for optimization, and streamline support processes, ensuring resources are allocated where they will have the most significant impact.
- Reference any attachments of supporting materials throughout this nomination and how they provide evidence of the claims you have made in this nomination (up to 250 words):
Total 188 words used.
Attachment "Stevie's Data" provides a comprehensive breakdown of our metrics from July 1, 2022, to October 3, 2024. This data highlights our Customer Satisfaction ratings, which consistently exceed industry benchmarks. Additionally, it includes response time metrics, showcasing a remarkable improvement—from multi-hour wait times to mere minutes for first responses—thanks to our strategic changes in customer support.
Attachment "Article Stats" contains data demonstrating the impact of our chatbot integration, which has driven major efficiencies in user support. With a 98% recognition accuracy, the chatbot has enabled more streamlined, effective interactions with our knowledge base. As a result, users find answers more quickly, with increased search accuracy, longer session duration, and fewer clicks and searches required. This efficiency has not only maintained a high self-service satisfaction rate but has also adapted seamlessly to a notable rise in active stores from 2022 through 2024.
These metrics and improvements underscore our commitment to innovating within customer support, yielding impressive results that drive both operational efficiency and enhanced customer experience. This forward momentum is not only indicative of our growth but also sets a powerful benchmark for customer support excellence across the industry.
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