TORONTO, Oct. 5 /CNW/ - Scotiabank today acknowledged the Bank has taken top honors in the Service Quality Measurement (SQM) Group's 2010 North American Call Center Service Quality Awards of Excellence. The 12th annual awards benchmark more than 450 leading North American call centers for the period October 1, 2009 to September 30, 2010.

"Scotiabank welcomes the accolades of a prestigious independent organization like the Service Quality Measurement Group," said Anatol von Hahn, Group Head, Canadian Banking. "Customer and employee satisfaction is crucial to Scotiabank's success, and we have made loyalty and satisfaction a key global performance indicator for the Bank."

Scotiabank's Customer Contact Centres in Calgary, Toronto and Halifax received a number of awards including:

-   Call Center of the Year, in Halifax, recognizing the highest combined
        customer and employee overall "very satisfied" rating for SQM's 2010
        Call Center Benchmarking Study;
    -   Call Center World Class Call Certification, recognizing Calgary and
        Halifax as having performed and maintained the "world class call
        level" for six months or more;
    -   Highest Customer Satisfaction for the banking industry;
    -   Highest Employee Satisfaction for the call center and banking
        industries;
    -   First Call Resolution Improvement in Calgary; and
    -   World Class Employee Satisfaction, in Halifax, where 50 per cent or
        more Scotiabank employees rated their experience working in the call
        center as "very satisfied."

For SQM's Call Center Certification Program, SQM surveyed a minimum of 800 customers by telephone within two business days of their call to a call center to understand their satisfaction with their service experience. Call Center World Class Call Certification is achieved when 75 per cent or more calls are at the world class level for six months or more in 2010.

"At Scotiabank, we are committed to achieving high levels of customer loyalty and employee engagement," said Dave Dobrosky, Senior Vice-President, Customer Contact Centres. "These recognitions build on the previous awards of excellence received by our Customer Contact Centres and I greatly appreciate our employees' dedication and commitment to our shared goals."

Scotiabank's Customer Contact Centres serve over 12 million retail and commercial customers across Canada annually through telephone and electronic mail channels, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. With more than 1,200 employees in Calgary, Toronto and Halifax, the Bank's contact centres deliver sales and service in English, French, Cantonese, Mandarin, Spanish and Punjabi.

Scotiabank is one of North America's premier financial institutions and Canada's most international bank. With close to 70,000 employees, Scotiabank Group and its affiliates serve approximately 14.6 million customers in some 50 countries around the world. Scotiabank offers a diverse range of products and services including personal, commercial, corporate and investment banking. With more than $523 billion in assets (as at July 31, 2010), Scotiabank trades on the Toronto (BNS) and New York Exchanges (BNS). For more information please visit www.scotiabank.com.