Omega Honors 25 Companies for Delivering 'World-Class' Customer Service; 2 Cited for Certification in Employee Training

BILLERICA, MA--(Marketwire - Feb 29, 2012) - The Omega Management Group Corp., specialists in driving companies' revenues and profits by implementing Customer Experience Management (CEM) strategies that increase customer and employee satisfaction, announced today that 25 companies have qualified to receive its NorthFace ScoreBoard Award(SM) for 2011. Omega also recognized two organizations for meeting the rigorous employee customer relationship training requirements needed for CEMPRO(SM) certification.

Now in its 12^th year, the NorthFace ScoreBoard (NFSB) award is presented annually to companies who, as rated solely by their own customers, achieved excellence in customer satisfaction during the prior calendar year. The 2011 program includes the first recipient, radiation oncology firm Accuray Incorporated, to qualify both for customer satisfaction and Net Promoter Score™ (NPS) loyalty ratings from its customers.

The Certified CEM Professional (CEMPRO) program was established in 2010 to provide best-in-class training curricula for organizations who want to ensure that their customer-facing groups have mastered the skills needed to deliver consistently exceptional customer experiences. CEMPRO is administered by Omega's strategic education and training partner, the Customer Relationship Management Institute (CRMI).

"The NorthFace ScoreBoard Award recognizes organizations who not only offer exemplary customer service, but who also center their existence on a deep commitment to exceeding customer expectations," said John Alexander Maraganis, president & CEO of Omega. "In 2011, more than 300 projects, many international in scope, were audited from 41 companies based in the U.S. and abroad. The majority of companies are repeat recipients, which shows that, despite the tough economy, implementing a CEM strategy is a reliable, proven way to achieve business success."

Omega's methodology measures customer satisfaction and loyalty levels on a 5-point scale (or equivalent) at least four times during the year in such categories as technical support, field service, customer service and account management. The 25 NFSB recipients are companies who, based solely on survey responses from their own customers, achieved a 4.0 or above out of a possible 5.0 or equivalent. NPS users must have achieved a rating of 41 percent or higher to qualify for the NorthFace ScoreBoard Award for 2011.

"Due to its unique 'customer-only vote' criteria, the NorthFace ScoreBoard Award has been viewed from its inception in 2000 as the only objective benchmark for excellence in customer service," Maraganis said. "Omega defines ultra customer loyalty as customers who continuously purchase from the same company -- even though other choices may offer significantly better pricing -- because the company consistently exceeds its customers' expectations."

Omega's research indicates that companies that consistently achieve a 4.0 rating or above have reached the "Loyalty Zone." This means they have succeeded in locking in profitable, long-term customer relationships, and this significantly raises the bar on their competitors.

Omega will formally present the NFSB and CEMPRO awards to recipients during ceremonies on May 17 at its SCORE Conference 2012, being held at the Seaport Boston Hotel from May 16-18. Keynote speaker for the NorthFace ScoreBoard Award dinner is Michael Hunter, undersecretary for business development at the Massachusetts Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development.

SCORE is the only event in the customer service industry that helps organizations make CEM strategy part of their corporate culture along with best practices on applying CEM principles within its customer-facing operations. Hundreds of service, support, sales, marketing and human resources executives from the country's leading firms attend the conference each year.

NFSB 2011 Recipients:
Twelve-time recipients:

• Haemonetics Corporation; Braintree, MA
• Kronos Incorporated; Chelmsford, MA

Eleven-time recipients:

• ZOLL Medical Corporation; Chelmsford, MA

Ten-time recipients:

• Alfa Wassermann, LLC; West Caldwell, NJ
• Analog Devices, Inc.; Norwood, MA
• Sony Electronics, Inc.; Park Ridge, NJ

Nine-time recipients:

• Boston Scientific Corporation; Natick, MA
• Carl Zeiss Meditec, Inc.; Dublin, CA
• FLIR Systems, Inc.; North Billerica, MA

Eight-time recipients

• None

Seven-time recipients:

• KVH Industries, Inc.; Middletown, RI

Six-time recipients:

• None

Five-time recipients:

• Netezza, an IBM Company; Marlborough, MA
• Terumo Corp., Somerset, NJ

Four-time recipients:

• DMS Health Technologies; Fargo, ND
• RelayHealth; Alpharetta, GA

Three-time recipients:

• ACIST Medical Systems, Inc.; Eden Prairie, MN
• L-1 Identity Solutions, Biometrics Division; Bloomington, MN
• Pegasystems Inc.; Cambridge, MA

Two-time recipients

• Hewlett-Packard Enterprise Services, LLC -

Global Service Desk; Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

• Stratus Technologies, Inc.; Maynard, MA

First-time recipients:

• Accuray Incorporated, Sunnyvale, CA
• Axsys Technologies, Nashua, NH
• Instron, Norwood, MA
• Masimo Corp., Irvine, CA
• Diagnostica Stago, Inc.; Parsippany, NJ
• Webtrends, Portland, OR

CEMPRO 2011 Recipients:

• ACIST Medical Systems, Eden Prairie, MN
  (Field service and Customer Support groups)
• Instron, Norwood, MA
  (Field Service group)

Note to Editors: City and state denotes either company headquarters or principal location where CEM strategy work was conducted.

About Omega
Since 1984, the Omega Management Group Corp. has been a recognized expert in developing and implementing customer and employee experience management strategy (CEM) programs that drive product and service revenue and profits. Services include customer and employee surveys, employee incentive programs, benchmark research and analysis, key account retention strategies, win-back strategies, consulting and marketing of customer satisfaction results to stakeholders and the marketplace.

For more information on how to qualify for the NorthFace ScoreBoard Award or to attend SCORE Conference 2012, visit www.omegascoreboard.com or call (800) 711-5196 and ask for Denise.

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