Superior Bankcard Service was named the 1997 Enterprise Award winner for Best Business Practices in Customer Satisfaction. Recipients of this award are selected by an independent panel of business owners, Malcolm Baldrige quality examiners, and leading academics in the field of best practices.
SBS has been in operation since November 1994 and after a year of operation, was ranked #12 in the U.S. among non-bank acquirers. Today SBS is the nation's eighth largest non-bank acquirer.
Part of the reason Superior received the award was their programs that focus on the merchant's satisfaction. During the fist quarter of 1997, Superior took the concept of "clubs" that provide the merchant with free replacement equipment or reduced cost supplies and unveiled its merchant SMART (Superior Merchant Advantage Rewards & Travel) Club. The SBS SMART Club provides merchants with frequent flyer miles, vacation drawings, accidental death insurance, free phone cards, education scholarships and grants, and employee theft reimbursement. Additionally, the Superior MAC (Merchant Appreciation Call) Program requires all SBS employees to make three to five Merchant Appreciation Calls per day. The SBS employee calls just to say "hi" but also to trouble shoot any potential concerns before they become problems. Additionally, every customer who calls the corporate office is greeted by a live operator.
Superior's founders, Joe Kaplan and Tim Jechner, both have previous bankcard experience which convinced them that the industry really needed a quality service provider. Last year's 300% growth seems to have proved them right.
SBS now has 50 agent offices and nearly 1000 reps nationwide. They are continually looking for established offices and sales reps that are interested in same day approvals with live account numbers coupled with "life of the account" discount compensation. For more information about Superior Bankcard Service, call (800) 727-7898.
