The WOW! Awards

Robby the Bobby wins prestigious award!

Listen to what some of the people attending The WOW! Awards Ceremony had to say.

Winners

The WOW! Award for Best Retail Operation - Ladbrokes

Ladbrokes was the very first organisation to start using the wow awards. In the last five years they have received literally thousands of nominations from delighted customers across the country. It gives us great pleasure to see them recognised As Best Retail Operation for all their hard work and commitment.

The WOW! Award for Best On-Line Retailer - I Want One Of Those

It's difficult to imagine that customers making a purchase online would ever want to make a nomination for outstanding customer service. But I Want One of Those have really turned the tables and found ways to go above and beyond the call of duty with online customers. In the last five months they received over 300 customer nominations.

The WOW! Award for Best Manufacturing or Business to Business Supplier - Green & Black's

As consumers, we all love Green & Blacks. But their customers are really the big retailers. So how many consumers would take the trouble to tell Green & Blacks that they have had a fantastic customer experience? The answer was, a lot! The nominations were made all the more special by the fact that two key members of the response team were about to be made redundant in a reorganisation of the business. It just goes to show how dedicated people can be even when faced with difficult times.

The WOW! Award for Small Business, Big WOW! - Caledonian Therapy Academy Ltd

This small business based in Glasgow has demonstrated great leadership and commitment. Whilst using The WOW! Awards they have been carefully measuring the impact on their employees and their customers. Employee absence has fallen by 83%, customer retention has gone up by 125% and gross profits have gone up by 300%.

The WOW! Award for Best In Financial Services - The Mortgage Broker Ltd

The Mortgage Broker have demonstrated that it is possible to give outstanding customer service in a sector that does not always enjoy a great reputation. Their commitment to their customers and the personal attention that they have given have won than many nominations. In one case, a member of the team lent out her brothers flat to a client who was caught between moves and had nowhere to stay. Now that's what I call service!

The WOW! Award for Best Healthcare Provider - Osborne Grove Nursing Home

At Osborne Grove Nursing Home they are looking after people who require considerable care.  But when words like nurturing, love and compassion are used you realise that this place is something extraordinary.  Their focus at Osborne is on enabling not disabling, encouraging residents to make their own decisions and remain independent.  One of their initiatives is to help people celebrate how young they are rather than how old they are.

The WOW! Award for Best Emergency Services - Merseyside Police

The public sector has really led the way this last year in using The WOW! Awards. And none more so than Merseyside Police. The nominations that they have received have been a real eye-opener and a fascinating insight into the broad spectrum of work undertaken by police officers that goes way beyond the traditional image of catching villains.

The Award for OWW to WOW! - I Want One Of Those

The award for OWW! to WOW! sets out to recognise those organisations that have gone the extra mile to resolve a customer's problem.  An organisation like I Want One of Those handles thousands of orders everyday for products that are shipped around the world.  Often there are special circumstances to take account of such as a birthday or anniversary and the path from placing an order to successful delivery can be fraught with difficulty.  I Want One of Those have succeeded in turning problems into delight and generating HUGE loyalty amongst their customers.

The WOW! Award for Outstanding Contribution to The Community - Caledonian Therapy Academy  Ltd

Caledonian Therapy Academy might only be a small business but they have punched well above their weight by being generous in their contributions to the community.  During the year they have helped Marie Curie, Shelter and the local children's hospital.  They have been creative and proactive in generating funds and finding good causes.

The WOW! Award for Best in Hospitality - Debbie Iddison York Marriott Hotel

Debbie Iddison started work at York Marriott Hotel immediately after leaving school. The manager there had been impressed by her customer service skills when she did her work experience there as a student. Debbie used put those skills to good use and created a delighted customer from what might have been a difficult situation. Not only did she go out of our way in offering this customer service within the hotel, she also made a number of recommendations that helped her customer enjoy the whole of the City of York. Debbie is a shining ambassador for the York Marriott Hotel and for youngsters everywhere!

The WOW! Award for Best Local Authority  - Haringey Council

Haringey Council employee 8,500 people serving a population of 225,000 and working in 108 different languages. Their work is often fraught with difficulty and has to be handled with limited resources. Their customers might not always have a choice about which service provider they can use but this didn't stop more than 1,300 delighted customers nominating individuals at Haringey Council last year for outstanding service. The WOW! Awards have provided a firm foundation for improved customer satisfaction and employee engagement.

The Award for WOW! I Wish I'd Thought of One of Those - Cougar Automation Ltd

There are two key elements of to the success of Cougar automation. Firstly, they recognise that it is impossible to improve any one part of their business by 100% but they can improve 100 little things by 1%. Secondly, they do things differently! In particular, there has been a tremendous focus on building a great team to deliver outstanding customer service. Innovations included playing to people's strengths and not forcing them to do jobs that they don't enjoy, as well as giving people them the freedom to choose their own leader. Not only are they great engineers but they are also great service providers in an industry where it is difficult to differentiate themselves on their product alone.

The WOW! Award sponsored by Ladbrokes for the best team - Homes For Haringey

Customers of Homes for Haringey are often customers for life and so it can be even tougher to maintain a reputation for great service.  The team have succeeded through a combination of passion, resident focus, best practice and innovation.  They take tremendous pride in what they have created and one of the judges made the comment, "They are WOW!  Without even knowing it!"

The WOW! Award for A Leading Light - Angie Court

There are often people who achieve great things in their work.  But there are only a few people who take their passion beyond their work and into the wider community.  Angie Court is one of those people.  In addition to a long and successful career with Avis, Angie has always been one to share best practice.  She has been a regular contributor to events around the world and a long standing board member and Chair of SOCAP in Europe.  But probably Angie's greatest talent is that she is always willing to help.  The world would be a better place if we had a few more Angie Courts around.

The WOW! Award for Most  Inspiring Front Liner - Robby The Bobby from Merseyside Police

Every once in a while, a nomination for The WOW! Awards comes through that makes us go, "WOW!  That's amazing!"   Or at least, it used to be every once in a while.  Since Robby the Bobby came to our attention, we have been saying, "WOW!" an awful lot.  Robby is a School Liaison Officer working in Croxteth and Norris Green areas of Liverpool.  Over a period of 12 years his approach has won him an army of supporters within that community - both young and old.  And as his army of helpers grows, so Robby's ability to steer youngsters away from a life of gangs and guns gets stronger.  Robby makes you feel proud to be British!