Customer Service Employee of the Year: Meet your nominees

The winner could be anything from an outstanding call-centre team to an individual working in a large store. It may even be a one-man-band business which goes that extra mile, or an individual in a small store who offers something different and helps bring a community together.

Word spreads fast in Jersey, particularly about those businesses that get things wrong. This award is for those who go that step further in order to make sure that their customers are happy with the service they receive and want to keep returning.

Read about the nominations for Customer Service Employee of the Year 2015 here:

Name: Denise Heavey

Parish: St Helier

Nominated by: Marta Stosio, George Robertson, Adrian Goldsborough, Telmo Melon

Denise Heavey has been nominated for Customer Service Employee of the Year on four separate occasions.

Ms Heavey has worked in the hospitality industry for ten years, working her way through the ranks and eventually becoming the manager of Café JAC.

Mr Goldsborough said: ‘Denise has fantastic customer service skills with people of all ages and nothing is ever too much trouble.

‘She works long hours in a stressful environment but is always smiling and delivering good service to make her customers smile.

‘This is why the Arts Centre has such a busy vibe and her bright personality would be an asset to any business.’

Marta Stosio also nominated Ms Heavey for the same category and said: ‘She is always friendly and very dedicated to her job. I have never seen her unhappy or moody. She always ensures that customers are satisfied and she is always able to handle difficult situations in a professional manner.

Ms Stosio, a former employee of the Café, said: ‘When I worked for her, she was always keen to motivate her staff. For example, if one of the staff was feeling down, she would always push them to work harder and push them to improve.’

Name: Mark Stephens

Parish: St Helier

Nominated by: Madeline Bates

MARK Stephens has been nominated by Madeline Bates in the Customer Service Employee of the Year category for consistently delivering excellent service, even when he is under pressure.

Ms Bates said that Mark, who works at LibertyBus, is incredibly reliable and nothing is too much trouble for him.

She said: ‘He is always pleasant, polite and always finds a solution to your problem.’

Describing one instance when Mark had delivered exceptional customer service, she said: ‘A few weeks ago there was chaos at the bus station as the screens had gone blank.

‘Mark was there going from one customer to another, giving help and advice.’

She added: ‘There was also another time when I had issues with my AvanchiCard and Mark spent ages sorting it out, was very apologetic and knew exactly what to do.’

Mr Stephens was born and raised in Jersey and began working for LibertyBus three weeks after they were established in the Island in 2013.

Ms Bates praised Mark for his dedication and commitment to passengers and said he was: ‘A credit to LibertyBus and a credit to the Island.’

Name: Fatima De Graça

Parish: St Helier

Nominated by: Anne Heys

FATIMA De Graça has been nominated for the Customer Service Employee of the Year award by Anne Heys for her warm and friendly approach to customers.

Mrs Heys said that Fatima, who works at WHSmith in St Helier, was ‘an absolutely delightful girl’.

‘She is easily the nicest person that serves me out of every place in town.

‘I usually visit the shop about twice a week and she is always happy, smiling and very obliging.’

Mrs Heys also said that even her boss had commented on how pleasant Fatima was to work with and added: ‘She is a darling.’

‘She really brightens up the day for all customers passing through the shop.

‘I think she makes people want to go to WHSmith rather than elsewhere.’

‘I think she is a fantastic employee and an asset to WHSmith,’ added Mrs Heys.

Name: Robert Pelford

Parish: St Clement

Nominated by: Janet Smith

ROBERT Pelford has been nominated for the Customer Service Employee of the Year award by Janet Smith for his excellent standards of customer care.

Mr Pelford works at the Goose on the Green and has been praised for his helpful and sympathetic manner towards a customer during a bereavement.

Mrs Smith said: ‘We organised a wake after my father-in-law passed away, and Robert couldn’t have been more helpful.

‘He arranged everything for us.

‘We had a number of elderly guests and Robert came out from behind the bar and served guests at the tables, which they are not meant to do.

‘He made sure we had enough food and were topped up with drinks without being intrusive or over the top.

‘It was just really good service.

‘He went above and beyond what he needed to do.’

Mrs Smith added: ‘We have been back on other occasions and he remembers our names and what drinks we want, which is really nice.

‘I haven’t known another barman to go out of his way like that before. He is a credit not only to the pub, but also to his profession.’

Name: Florina Raileanu

Age: 27

Parish: St Helier

Nominator: Sandra Cameron

FLORINA Raileanu, business manager of the Clarins flagship counter in Boots, is in the running for a Pride of Jersey Award.

Originally from Slatina, in the south of Romania, Mrs Raileanu has worked on the counter for six years after coming to Island in 2009.

Mrs Raileanu says she loves to lead by example when it comes to customer service and it means the world to her to know that her customers feel valued and leave her counter with a smile on their face.

She has been married to her husband Ionut for eight months, who she describes as very supportive, and also has a younger brother who lives in the Island, with the rest of her family living back home in Romania.

Her nominator, customer Sandra Cameron, said: ‘Florina has always been friendly and helpful every time I go there.

‘She offers advice without pressure to buy.

‘Her happiness and caring attitude make my day a better one.’

Name: Richard Tanguy

Age: 28

Parish: St Helier

Nominated by: Colin Gully

A HELPFUL bike salesman has been put forward for a Customer Service Employee of the Year award.

Colin Gully, a happy customer of Big Maggy’s cycle shop, has nominated Richard Tanguy for the award, thanks to his ‘tips and banter’.

Mr Gully, who had not cycled for 20 years, said Mr Tanguy’s service was ‘very satisfying’ in meeting his needs.

He added that Mr Tanguy, who is a Commonweath and Island Games cyclist, was an ‘absolute pleasure’ to do business with.

Mr Tanguy took cycle measurements and provided options that would suit Mr Gully’s needs.

Mr Gully said he was pleased with the advice he was given and had all of his questions answered.

‘I always come away feeling treated as a special customer’ he said.

He added that Mr Tanguy was keen to ensure customer satisfaction and welfare and that he was ‘extremely genuine’ in his approach to customers.

Name: Gillian Page

Age: 56

Parish: St Saviour

Nominated by: Christianne Dougherty

A ‘POLITE and helpful’ sales assistant has been nominated for a Pride of Jersey Award.

Gillian Page had struggled to find work for years, having spent most of her adult life raising her five children as a single mother.

However, she finally got a break when Marks and Spencer offered her a job as a customer assistant two years ago.

She was initially offered a three-month placement with the high-street chain in their King Street store but they were so impressed with her performance they kept her on permanently.

And she has now been nominated by a regular shopper, who is full of praise for her customer service skills.

‘I have never met someone so polite and so helpful all the time I have been in Jersey,’ said her nominator, Christianne Dougherty.

‘She always has a smile on her face and says: “Please”, “Can I help you?” and “Thank you” once you have been served by her.

‘I just loved being served by her.’

Name: Henry Nehwati

Parish: St Helier

Nominated by: Ann-Marie Weatherby

HENRY Nehwati, who has worked for Jersey Post for six years, thinks that making the customer happy is essential to a business.

Henry, who is originally from Zimbabwe and has lived in the Island for seven years, said that he was really honoured to be nominated for this award.

He believes that customers should be treated as if they are his boss, and before coming to Jersey he worked in the hospitality industry, which he believes helped him to develop his people skills.

He met his wife of seven years, Laurie, who is from Jersey, at the Victoria Falls and they returned to the Island together.

Their daughter, Hannah Victoria, was born this year.

Henry was nominated by customer Ann-Marie Weatherby who works for the Style Group.

She said: ‘Henry is the postman for the Style Group in St Peter and he is always happy, friendly and really helpful.

‘He always puts a smile on the staff’s faces on a daily basis. He would go out of his way to help us. He deserves a big pat on the back from everyone.’

Name: Liliano Camacho

Parish: St Helier

Nominated by: Adelina d’Orleans and Anna Peters of the Inclusion Project

LILIANO Comacho, who works at the Manor Parks Stores and Quickstop corner shops in St Helier, was nominated by youth workers from the Inclusion Project.

The Project, which works with children with special needs, meet at La Pouquelaye Youth and Community Centre and Adelina d’Orleans and Anna Peters commended Liliano for his patience and support of the children who often use Manor Park Stores.

Before working in the shops Liliano, who comes from Madeira and has been in the Island for 35 years, was a manager at La Haule Manor Hotel.

Ms d’Orleans said: ‘We always visit Manor Park Stores in the evenings and Liliano goes above and beyond what you might expect from an employee.

‘The young people in the project all have special needs and Liliano has endless patience.

‘He always stops to talk to the young people and really takes an interest in each of them.

‘Some struggle with handling money, but he is very patient, helpful and encouraging.

‘Visiting the shop is a very important life skill for them and Liliano makes it an easy and fun experience for everyone.

‘We are very grateful for his support and feel he should be recognised for his excellent customer service and for being a friend of Inclusion.’

Name: Paulo Gouveia

Parish: St Lawrence

Nominated by: Gwen Quéripel

PAULO Gouveia has worked at the post office in the Co-Op Locale at Beaumont for the past four years.

He previously ran the post office in the Central Market before it closed down and says if the customer feels satisfied, he feels satisfied.

Paulo, who is originally from Madeira and has lived in Jersey for 25 years, has been married to Gina for 14 years and they have two sons – Leandro (13) and Ruben (4).

His nominator, Gwen Quéripel, said: ‘Paulo is always happy and welcoming to us and all the people I have seen him serve.

‘He makes customers smile and always has time to talk to people.

‘He always goes the extra mile to assist.

‘He has gone out of his way to talk to my husband, who has dementia, and he always asks how he is and how I am.

‘Also, I send post to Australia, and Paulo even went out of his way to get the correct box for me.

‘He makes a dull day bright.’

The sponsor:

ANIL MOOKONI, director of Infrasoft Technologies Jersey, is passionate about customer service.

This comes from his company’s position of being one of industry leaders in delivering software solutions for the finance industry.

With customers in 36 countries and offices in 12 different jurisdictions, Infrasoft Tech believes that although it is truly global, being local is the key to success.

Anil Mookoni, director of Infrasoft Technologies Jersey

From training and mentoring to overhauling computer systems, the Royal Square-based business works hard to build relationships with its customers and deliver what is expected of it.

With the backing of its global HQ in Mumbai, the company is able to help customers move from a ‘very orthodox way of using technology to a more business and efficient process’.

WHY THESE AWARDS?

‘Jersey is a very good place to live,’ says Mr Mookoni. ‘I have been very fortunate to find a place like this. It is very stable, socially secure and very good place to bring up a family. And, of course, there is a good work-life balance. And the people – that’s what has always attracted me to stay in Jersey.

‘But what has been missing in Jersey has been this core celebration that goes back to the real roots of the community. The JEP has come back with this amazing series, which is a very down-to-earth celebration. I think it will be very exciting and we are certainly looking forward to it as the celebrations involves much more than just the business world.

‘We have been involved in a lot of awards, and that is something where we connect with the people, with the community. Our ethos is based on championing customer service. We have always worked very hard to improve our quality in order to make sure that our services are centred on our customers. It is so important that the customer feels comfortable, and we want to promote that. That’s why this category is a perfect fit for us.’

WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR IN THE WINNERS?

‘They need to be very customer-centric. They must also understand what the customer needs, taking that extra step to make the customer comfortable. All these factors a important in making the customer want to come back. We would look at someone who cares, who takes the extra step to please the customer and deliver what’s wanted.

‘Also, the winner can be any type of business – small or large. In a small organisation there is a connection and delivery is consistent. Big companies need to work even harder to make sure every one of their customers gets that personal and local touch.’

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