Samsung Electronics Service said on Sunday it selected 18 engineers with the highest customer satisfaction last year as CS Masters. The CS Masters programme selects outstanding engineers who achieve both technical capability and customer satisfaction. It first evaluates technical capability such as repair accuracy and speed, then makes a final selection from engineers in the top 0.3 percent for customer satisfaction.

Since the programme was introduced in 2019, 93 people, or 1.7 percent, of about 5,300 engineers have been selected over 7 years. Only 27 people, or 0.5 percent, have been selected more than once, showing intense competition. The company said objectivity is high because selection is based on a satisfaction survey rated directly by customers. It added that the customer satisfaction scores of this year's 18 winners were the highest even compared with past winners.

By category, 8 were selected in mobile phones, 9 in home appliances and 1 in B2B services for corporate customers. Choi Sujeong was selected last year at the Gwangju Gwangsan Center and moved this year to the Samsung Gangnam Center in Seoul, earning the title for a second straight year. It was the first time since 2019 that a mobile phone service master was produced in Seoul, the company said.

Jung Seungcheol, who handles B2B services, recorded perfect scores in the customer satisfaction survey. Through tailored services that consider each company's characteristics and rapid responses, he delivered 100 percent satisfaction in communications with more than 130 customer cases.

Kim Daehee, who handles mobile phone service at the Gumi Center in North Gyeongsang Province, and Song Younghoon and Ahn Jinbeom, who handle on-site home appliance service at the Ansan Center in Gyeonggi Province, were selected after 2 years with the company. They were selected despite relatively short careers through self-development to improve technical capability.

Kim Youngho, president and vice chairman of Samsung Electronics Service, said, "I thank all employees for leading customer satisfaction and putting the customer-first value into practice. We will continue to strive to deliver a differentiated experience to all customers who use Samsung Electronics products."