Pictured above: Chris Longmate
National training organisation Positive Outcomes is backing the
importance of outstanding customer service in family businesses as
sponsor of a new category in the Midlands' only Award initiative
for family run and owned organisations.
The 'Service Excellence' category is new for the 2011 Midlands
Family Business Awards, which launched in 2010 and is underwritten
by Nottingham insurance and financial advisory firm The Wilson
Organisation.
As a company specialising in commercial and government-funded
work-based training and apprenticeships, Positive Outcomes
identifies with the importance of achieving and demonstrating
superior customer service, as MD Chris Longmate explains:
"As trading conditions become increasingly competitive, what
often makes the difference for a business and sets it apart from
the competition, is the standard of its customer service. There is
a real skill in building and sustaining strong customer
relationships, and the foundation lies in a team that knows how to
treat customers. For a business, whatever their size or sector,
service excellence can make a huge contribution to company
productivity and longevity.
"The Midlands Family Business Awards are an excellent and
not-for-profit initiative designed to recognise the work and
achievements of family businesses, and it is refreshing to see
these Awards pay homage to the role of Service Excellence in a
businesses' success in this new category for 2011. The team at
Positive Outcomes' is looking forward to being involved with the
Awards this year and for me personally, I am particularly looking
forward to taking part in the judging process to find the business
demonstrating it has 'the edge' when it comes to Service
Excellence."
He adds: "Our extensive portfolio of commercial training courses
places emphasis on developing learners' skills governing how they
work with customers. Indeed, our recently launched commercial
training portfolio addresses how to achieve excellence in customer
service, sales fundamentals and telephone skills, which in turn
goes a long way to demonstrating our own understanding of the
components of a superior customer service."
Entries for the Service Excellence and the Awards other nine
categories are completely free and can be made from the 3rd May
until the 30th June 2011. Family run and owned businesses can enter
via the online Award submission process on the website
www.familybusinessawards.co.uk or download a paper entry form.
Once all the entries have been received, the judges will assess
the submissions and agree a shortlist of five businesses for each
category, each of which will be invited to an informal interview
with the category judging panel during September.
Category judges will select two runners-up and a winner from the
shortlisted five businesses, who will be announced at the
prestigious Awards ceremony in Birmingham on Thursday 17th November
2011.