This year’s Sure Customer Service Awards have a number of new award categories for which individuals, teams and businesses can be nominated.
The awards are in their eighth year and recognise excellent customer service across a variety of sectors in the Channel Islands.
The new categories for 2018 are more specific in order to attract nominations from even more industries across the islands. There are two weeks left to nominate and so far there have been more than 1,000 online nominations with many more thousands on paper.
The awards also have new timings this year, with the Guernsey awards taking place in September instead of July to consider nominations from tourists over the busy summer months.
The 2018 categories are: aspiring star, self-employed, best team, best individual employee, best service in travel and accommodation, best service from leisure and tourism, best service in food and drink, best retail service, best service from professional and personal services, best service through digital innovation and the people’s choice. One overall winner is then selected from the 11 category winners for the overall customer service award.
Sure’s Chief Customer Officer, Charlotte Dunsterville, said: “It’s important to highlight excellent customer service and recognise those who truly go above and beyond for customers.
“Introducing new categories this year will hopefully identify people from businesses and sectors we’ve not received votes for in the past, particularly with the categories specifically for leisure and tourism and travel and accommodation.”
This year’s awards also have a new digital platform for people to nominate individuals, teams and businesses online. Nominations already received include a retail assistant who has been described as going “above and beyond” as well as being “incredibly knowledgeable in the product and industry”. The nomination went on to say that “he makes you feel like you are special and a friend. Polite, impeccably turned out and conscientious.”
A nomination that came through for an employee in the vehicle restoration industry detailed the “true dedication, workmanship and customer care” that they demonstrated.
Rob Mallett from Channel Island Smart Move, winner of the self-employed category at the 2017 awards, said: “It felt amazing to be nominated – let alone win. Both the nomination and winning the award has given us a big confidence boost.
“There’s a tremendous amount of gratification knowing that we’re doing something right and that our customers appreciate it, as that’s what I am always working towards. I’m a big believer in the importance of customer service so winning an award for it made me feel pretty good.”
The Sure Customer Service Awards are open for nominations online at http://thecustomerserviceawards.com/ until Friday 31 August with the Guernsey awards taking place at the Duke of Richmond hotel on Thursday 27 September and the Jersey awards on Thursday 4 October at the Radisson Blu Hotel.
