Consumer Survey Reveals JCPenney’s CustomerFIRST Culture Delivers on Creating Highly Satisfied Customers
PLANO, Texas (Jan. 15, 2010) – For the second year in a row, J. C. Penney Company, Inc. (NYSE: JCP) was recognized for its leading customer service by ranking No. 1 among department store retailers according to a 2009 Customers’ Choice survey released by the NRF Foundation and American Express. Results were announced earlier this week during the National Retail Federation’s 99th Annual Convention and Expo in New York City. The survey, which polled 8,600 respondents in September 2009, was designed to gauge consumer attitudes toward retailers’ customer service standards.
The positive results signify the efforts made by JCPenney’s CustomerFIRST initiative that launched in 2008 Company-wide. Through CustomerFIRST, JCPenney Associates undergo comprehensive customer service training which empowers every Associate to make customers their immediate priority by providing an easy, exciting and engaging shopping experience to more than half of America’s families who shop JCPenney each year.
“While 2009 presented a difficult year in our economy, we focused our efforts in building CustomerFIRST as a key differentiator for JCPenney,” said Myron E. (Mike) Ullman, III, chairman and chief executive officer of JCPenney. “We find that our highly engaged Associates make a significant difference in how customers feel about shopping at JCPenney. CustomerFIRST is about providing valuable customer service beyond what is expected.”
The results come on the heels of JCPenney’s Associate engagement survey which indicates that overall engagement is at its highest in Company history at 80 percent --- putting JCPenney Associates in the top quartile of U.S. companies. In addition, JCPenney’s customer satisfaction scores of highly satisfied or overall satisfaction have increased five points each year over the past three years, including 2009.
“With every retailer competing on price, customer service has never been more crucial to a retailer’s success,” said Kathy Mance, vice president of NRF Foundation. “JCPenney has demonstrated what it takes to break through the mold and connect with their shoppers on an individual basis, which is more important than ever these days.”
JCPenney’s value proposition of delivering great style, quality and affordable prices is only enhanced with this recognition for delivering the best in department store service. JCPenney’s leading customer service standards reflect the Company’s CustomerFIRST culture of highly engaged Associates. Investing in Associates is one of the key pillars to JCPenney’s social responsibility platform known as C.A.R.E.S. -- which embodies the Company’s ongoing commitment to Community, Associates, Responsible Sourcing, Environment and Sustainable Products.
About JCPenney
JCPenney is one of America's leading retailers, operating 1,109 department stores throughout the United States and Puerto Rico, as well as one of the largest apparel and home furnishing sites on the Internet, jcp.com, and the nation's largest general merchandise catalog business. Through these integrated channels, JCPenney offers a wide array of national, private and exclusive brands which reflect the Company's commitment to providing customers with style and quality at a smart price. Traded as "JCP" on the New York Stock Exchange, the Company posted revenue of $18.5 billion in 2008 and is executing its strategic plan to be the growth leader in the retail industry. Key to this strategy is JCPenney's "Every Day Matters" brand positioning, intended to generate deeper, more emotionally driven relationships with customers by fully engaging the Company's approximately 150,000 Associates to offer encouragement, provide ideas and inspire customers every time they shop with JCPenney.
About JCPenney C.A.R.E.S.
JCPenney has built a legacy of operating in an ethical and socially responsible manner. In 2007, the Company launched its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative – C.A.R.E.S. – stemming from the vision that JCPenney cares for its Community, Associates, Responsible Sourcing, Environment and Sustainable Products. The Company’s commitment to social responsibility reflects its philosophy that “Every Day Matters” – for its customers, Associates, communities, investors and suppliers. JCPenney was named in 2009 to the Dow Jones Sustainability Index of the leading public companies in North America for corporate sustainability and ranked No. 44 in the Newsweek Green Rankings of America’s 500 largest corporations. Additional information on JCPenney’s CSR initiatives can be found at www.jcpenney.net/about/social_resp/
Media Contact:
Daphne Avila; (972)431-3400
jcpcorpcomm@jcpenney.com
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