SOCAPiE appoints Robert Crawford as Chief Executive

Society of Consumer Affairs Professionals in Europe has revealed industry stalwart Robert Crawford as its new Chief Executive as part of a far reaching  plan to offer a wider range of service to its members and raise the profile of customer service generally

He takes over the role as SOCAPiE enters its 25th anniversary year and at a critical time in the establishment of customer service as a key business function.

Tim Oakes, Chairman, says of SOCAPiE says of the appointment: “I am delighted that someone of Robert’s calibre has agreed to lead the development of SOCAPiE at this exciting stage.

As Europe’s oldest professional body for customer service, we were keen to attract the best and Robert’s pedigree speaks for itself, having been one of the UK’s foremost service practitioners and Director at the Institute of Customer Service. This will allow us to accelerate our plans to help Europe plc recognise the vital importance of customer service.”

Crawford adds: “It is a great honour to take on this role at a time when many businesses are putting customer service at the centre of what they do. I would like to use the opportunity to promote ever higher levels of professionalism in customer service, to the benefit of customers and businesses in all marketplaces.”

“I am mindful of the huge amount of heritage behind the SOCAPiE brand and, in the short time I’ve been here, it is heartening to witness its loyal level of support from across the spectrum. I want to build on that heritage and develop a 21st century membership body that fully meets the needs of its members and beyond.”

Robert also points out that, with the world becoming smaller, one of SOCAPiE’s great strengths lies in its close links with other SOCAP bodies worldwide, enabling them to help members across the globe. He adds: “I also want to collaborate more with UK and European organisations in the customer service space so that we can work together to enhance the overall customer experience.”

The appointment comes as SOCAPiE gears up to expand its services to members. As Robert explains: “We have an ideal opportunity to cement our position as the leading customer service membership body. As we come out of recession, businesses are looking to get better value for money from their associations and our cost base means that we can keep our membership subscriptions at affordable levels. But we also need to deliver a more holistic offering and the next few months will see a number of new product launches – so watch this space!”