Last week all Rackers received the following email from Larry “Sugarbear” Reyes, Rackspace Culture Czar:

‘Twas the day before Open Book and all through the floor…
Lanham was exclaiming we need one competition more…
To my desk I sprang to email his mission…
Guess what Rackers, we’re having our first Annual Outrageous Christmas Sweater Competition!…
So come one, come all, to Open Book wearing your sweater…
It can be outrageous, festive, crazy and even better…
All Rackers and External Customers will be the judges…
So BRING IT before you hold any grudges…
This is a competition and it could be wild…
But please keep this Friends and Family and not over styled…
The winner wil receive a special recognition…
Something that will reflect this season of appreciation!!!

And now I present for your voting, the top 4 contestants:
Contestant #1

Contestant #2

Contestant #3

Contestant #4

So who do you think should win? Let us know in the comments section and have a Happy Holiday!!!

Rackspace recently gave our second annual Fanati™ award. The award honors the one customer that has best demonstrated excellence when it comes to customer service. Douglas Hanna, one of the contest judges, has written a special guest post about the contest and the winner.

A Fanatical Competition

As a customer service consultant and journalist, I have the opportunity to work with and report on a variety of companies of all shapes, sizes, and specialties.

I first started covering Rackspace in July 2006 and have enjoying following company since then. I have had the opportunity to meet and interview several Rackers and when I was asked to participate in the process of deciding which of Rackspace’s 31,000 customers would win THE FANATI contest award in September, I gladly accepted.

THE FANATI contest has a simple mission: to recognize Rackspace customers who value customer service as much as Rackspace does.

With that goal and my understanding of what Fanatical Support meant to me in mind, I reviewed a small stack of finalist applications and graded each finalist on a scale of one to ten in five areas. To me, Fanatical Support isn’t about responding to emails in a timely manner or being polite (that’s expected in today’s market). Instead, Fanatical Support is about going the extra mile. The companies that have set themselves apart as exceptional service providers are the companies that consistently go the extra mile for each and every one of their customers. (read more…)