Customer Service Categories

Includes all customer service functions.

Nominations that won in the 2026 ABAs may be resubmitted for consideration in the 2027 ABAs. If they have been updated with recent achievements, they may be submitted to the same categories in which they won. If they have not been updated, they must be submitted to categories different from those in which they won.

Information to be submitted online for entries in these categories for the 2027 ABAs will include

a. An essay of up to 4,900 characters describing the nominee’s accomplishments since January 1 2025, OR a video of up to five (5) minutes in length describing the same.
b. In bullet-list form, a brief summary (up to 1,150 characters) of up to ten (10) of the chief accomplishments of the nominee since the beginning of 2025.
c. Optional (but highly recommended), add to your entry up to 10 webpage links and up to 10 document uploads to support your case to the judges. These might be press articles, press releases, videos, or images, for example.

J01. Best Crisis Response in Customer Service
For teams or individuals who responded effectively to a customer service crisis, showing agility, empathy, and problem-solving skills under pressure.

J02. Best Use of Technology in Customer Service
For service teams that successfully adopted technology (e.g., AI, CRM, chatbots) to enhance speed, personalization, or satisfaction.

J03. Customer Retention Program of the Year
For service programs aimed at improving retention, loyalty, or reducing churn through outstanding support.

J04. Customer Service Department of the Year
If you wish to nominate your entire customer service organization, enter this category.

J05. Customer Service Executive of the Year
Enter this category to recognize the achievements of individual executives who have demonstrated outstanding leadership in customer service.

J06. Customer Service Innovation of the Year
Recognizes implementation of new systems, tools, or processes that transformed the customer service experience.

J07. Customer Service Team of the Year
If you wish to nominate some subset of your customer service organization, such as a particular call center or client relations team, nominate them in this category.

J08. Digital Customer Service Team of the Year
If you wish to nominate some subset of your customer service organization, such as a particular call center or client relations team, nominate them in this category.

J09. Multilingual Customer Support Program
Recognizes efforts in delivering consistent, high-quality service across multiple languages and cultures.