Our Goals

Membership Features & Benefits

Becoming A ServiceStar Member

Your Application

The ServiceStar Pledge

Becoming Certified

Your Listing

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

What it Costs

To Enquire

Web Site Design

Application for ServiceStar Listing

Site Terms & Conditions

Let your customers do your selling for you - on line

How can your potential customers have faith in your business?

The most powerful sales tool you have is word of mouth recommendations from satisfied customers. ServiceStar Membership allows you to tap into and harness those recommendations to attract new customers by taking word of mouth online.

Whether yours is a micro business or a large business, home based or mobile, shop or office, trade or professional service, retail or B2B - if you provide great customer service we can support and promote your business to the *90% of potential customers who use the internet to find products and services.

8 good reasons to join:

ServiceStar Membership is both a business improvement tool and a marketing tool exclusively for businesses with great customer service and it costs from less than $1 per day.

* Australian Bureau of Statistics 2007

The Full Story:

Our Goals:

At ServiceStar our aim is to support and showcase businesses who are fair dinkum about customer service.

With over 90% of Australians now internet-connected, more and more consumers are searching for products and services on-line. ServiceStar provides an opportunity for businesses to promote their services to potential customers in a very credible manner - by taking word of mouth online.

ServiceStar Membership - a business improvement tool + a marketing tool

Any business can buy space in the  press, telephone directory or on-line directories and make great claims about their business, however, it's the interactions between consumers and businesses which provide the real "moments of truth". ServiceStar brings word-of-mouth to the internet.

From an  investment of less than		per day

WHAT DO I GET?	HOW WILL THIS HELP MY BUSINESS?
ServiceStar Certification	Through the Customer Satisfaction Survey, an independent and unbiased yardstick to measure your customer service   Customer Satisfaction Scorecard - invaluable feedback to improve your business - find out what customers like or don't like about your business   Unbiased customer testimonials to use in your marketing - on your web site, in brochures or other promotions.   Credibility and trust through certification   Recognition of your business   Share results with business partners and team members to increase motivation   Independent information to support your entry for business awards etc.   Increase the value of your business   Great PR - your customers know you are serious about excellent customer service
ServiceStar Listing	A powerful sales tool to showcase your business   Cost effective internet presence to reach more customers   Your customers' ratings and comments are your best referrals.   Competitive advantage - stand out from the crowd   Attract the rapidly growing number of people who now shop using the internet
Use of ServiceStar logo in signage	Credibility & trust associated with ServiceStar Membership   Easily recognised proof of service
Direct consumer & business updates	A growing database of consumers and businesses are regularly notified of ServiceStar Members by electronic newsletters
Electronic Members Newsletters	Gain new business ideas/updates Learn about new members
Your ServiceStar consultant	An experienced business person genuinely interested in working with you to ensure the success of your business. Friendly advice and ideas to help your business.   Business and internet skills which will be shared with you.   Easy to contact and talk with.
Web site design and hosting (optional)	A user-friendly multi-page web site, designed specifically for your business.   Professional and effective web presence at very reasonable cost.   Can utilize your own domain name.   Provides a professional image for your business.   Click here for details.

Becoming A ServiceStar Member

ServiceStar membership is available to any business wishing to attract customers in the greater Sydney Area.

Becoming a ServiceStar Member is a three step process:

Membership Fees

ServiceStar Membership fees vary from $330 per year to $770 per year (including GST) depending on the size of the business and which survey method is used. Renewals are discounted by 25%. Click here to see our detailed fee schedule.

Your Application

You may apply by completing the Application for ServiceStar Membership and sending it to us by post/fax. If you have any questions about listing your business with ServiceStar we would encourage you to contact us before applying. We can then discuss your business and how to use the listing to gain the maximum benefit.

The ServiceStar Pledge

Every ServiceStar Member has signed the following pledge…
 

“Our business is committed to providing the highest levels of customer service. Specifically, we are accountable for:  Trust – earning our customers' trust by doing what we say we will do and charging the price quoted, or the amended quote, with no surprises.   Reliability – keeping appointments, meeting deadlines and completing the job on time.   Quality – providing the service and the quality promised to our customers.   Integrity – being honest and straightforward. Treating all our customers with professionalism, courtesy and respect.    Communication - caring, listening, and responding to the needs, questions and concerns of our customers. Resolving all issues quickly.   Value – providing our service or product at a price which is judged to be of value by our customers.   Satisfaction - providing our customers with the best overall experience based upon our expertise, value and service.”

Becoming Certified

It is the unique certification process which enables consumers to trust businesses listed in ServiceStar and which differentiates it from other directories. No business can be listed in ServiceStar unless they are certified.

Certification can only be credible and useful to consumers if it is undertaken in an independent, professional and objective way. We have been designing and analysing surveys for corporations for over 25 years.

To achieve certification a sample of a business's customers are surveyed and asked to rate the business on customer satisfaction and customer loyalty. They are also asked to provide comments.  The number of customers contacted depends on the size and nature of the business. Businesses must achieve an excellent score of 80% or more on both Customer Satisfaction and Customer Loyalty to be eligible for listing. Here is an example of a Customer Satisfaction Survey:

There are several ways in which a business's customers can be surveyed....

1. On-line Survey. The business invites clients to participate in an on-line survey. The results are automatically transmitted electronically to ServiceStar. On completion of the survey period, the scores are calculated and the comments are documented. If the business qualifies, it is awarded ServiceStar Membership and listed on this web site. The business receives a summary of the scores and comments resulting from the survey. Click here to see a sample on-line survey.

2. Mail-out Survey. The business sends the Customer Satisfaction Survey to an agreed number of customers. Their customers return the confidential surveys to ServiceStar in reply paid envelopes. The scores are calculated and the comments are documented. If the business qualifies, it is awarded ServiceStar Membership and listed on this web site. This option is appropriate for new businesses or those not equipped with the data or technology to use the electronic option. The business receives a summary of the scores and comments resulting from the survey.

3. Telephone survey. The business provides us with a list of customers and contact phone numbers. A confidential telephone survey captures the customer satisfaction scores and comments. The scores are calculated and the comments are documented. If the business qualifies, it is awarded ServiceStar Membership and listed on this web site. The business also receives a summary of the scores and comments resulting from the survey.

4. Credible In-House Survey. Some businesses may already have well documented customer feedback systems in place. In such cases we will discuss the system being used and if we believe the process is reliable and unbiased we will use the results to determine eligibility for ServiceStar Membership. Such businesses do not pay the full membership fee.

When you contact us we will discuss the most appropriate option for your business.

Please note: Whichever survey method is used, once your customers are surveyed we delete all of their personal particulars from our records.

Tailored Surveys

By adding further questions to the standard CSS we can provide you with even more information to help your business stay competitive and grow. Click here to see an example of a tailored survey.

Examples of information you could gain from a Tailored CSS:

• Which of your products or services your customer values most

• Why does your customer choose to patronise your business

• New products or services the customer would like to see you offer

• How you could enhance the customer experience

• How they feel about your after sales service/support

• How they rate your product quality

• Rating you on specific areas such as courtesy, value for money, professionalism, quality etc.

If you are interested in a Tailored Survey we will discuss what you would like to find out from your customers and give you a quote. As a guideline you should budget for approx $50 for each additional survey question or item in an online survey. As with the standard survey, your tailored survey results will be presented as a professional statistical report or, for an additional charge, a written report with our analysis.

Your Listing

Once certified, your business is listed in the category (or categories) of your choice. Each listing occupies approximately 1/3 of a web page. Businesses are listed in order of becoming ServiceStar Members. Each listing contains details of the business as well as the results of their certification, as explained below in this reduced size example. Businesses which score between 80% and 90% receive a Gold rating, those over 90% receive a Platinum rating.

In some instances you may see "Certification in Progress" under a listing. This means the business has applied for ServiceStar Membership and we are currently surveying their customers to determine if they are eligible. They are not yet certified.

Every business is re-surveyed annually and the results updated in their listing. This is to ensure that the businesses are still achieving high levels of customer service and consumers can be confident in choosing them.

ServiceStar Frequently Asked Questions

1. How do consumers find out about the ServiceStar web site?
2. What if my business covers more than one category?
3. Do I have to give ServiceStar my customer database for the Survey?
4. What if we already survey our customers for feedback?
5. How do you work out the number of customers to survey?
6. In what order do listing appear?
7. With the Customer Satisfaction Surveys, how do you comply with the privacy act?
8. What if I would like to ask my customers additional questions on the survey?

1. How do consumers find out about the ServiceStar web site?

Our vision is for all  consumers to be aware of ServiceStar and have the web address firmly placed under "favourites" in their web browser.  To create an awareness of the ServiceStar brand we are firmly committed to advertising the site and businesses on an ongoing basis through the  press and through our electronic newsletters to  businesses and consumers.

2. What if my business covers more than one category?

It is certainly possible (and can be an advantage) to list your business in more than one category. We will list your business in appropriate additional categories for free.

3. Do I have to give ServiceStar my customer database for the Survey?

No, we do do not expect you to share your customer database with us. If using an e-Survey or a Mail Survey we will provide you with the necessary guidelines and documents so you can initiate a survey directly with your customers - this means your customers hear from you, not us. If we are doing a telephone survey you will need to supply us with names and telephone numbers of customers.

4. What if we already survey our customers for feedback?

We will discuss this with you. If we believe the feedback process your business is using is reliable and unbiased we will use the results to determine eligibility for ServiceStar Membership. Such businesses do not pay the full certification fee.

5. How do you work out the number of customers to survey?

We have been designing and conducting surveys for major companies for over 25 years. We use scientifically accepted formulas to determine the number of customers to survey to produce statistically reliable results. Essentially it is a sliding scale depending on the number of customers you invoice in a year.

6. In what order do listings appear in a category?

In any given category, listings appear in order of ServiceStar Membership. On most computer screens three listings are clearly visible without needing to scroll down the page.

7. With the Customer Satisfaction Surveys, how do you comply with the privacy act?

Above all, we stringently adhere to the National Privacy Principles. In a nutshell, we conduct the Customer Satisfaction Survey on behalf of your business and we discuss with you the format to use to best suit your customer base. For the surveys, the only personal information required is name and a contact number and once the survey is completed this information is purged from our records. If survey recipients supply an email address (optional) then we add that information to our database so we can keep consumers informed of ServiceStar happenings by newsletter.

8. What if I would like to ask my customers additional questions on the survey?

A customer satisfaction survey is a great way to learn from your customers. If you would like to extend the scope of the survey we are happy to discuss this with you and tailor the survey accordingly. There may be a small charge for this. Click here to see a sample Tailored Customer Satisfaction Survey.