Nominations in for Rochdale Town Centre's employee of the year

Sharon Lee - Bodyshop

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Nominations have flooded in for the Rochdale Town Centre employee of the year award, sponsored by Rochdale Online.

Managers at town centre businesses and members of the public have been putting staff forward for the award and Rochdale Online can exclusively reveal the final nominees.

There is a £500 cash prize for the winner of the employee of the year award, which will be presented at the Rochdale Town Centre Business Awards Ceremony at Rochdale Town Hall on Friday 4 September.

Suzy Woods from Rochdale Town Centre Management said: "If you would like to vote, simply read the profiles of each nominee and choose your favourite. Perhaps you will recognise someone who has given you great service in the past in town centre."
 
Vote online for your Rochdale Town Centre Employee of the Year 2009.

The closing date for votes is Wednesday 2 September.

The nominees are as follows.

Sharon Lee - Bodyshop

Nominated by - Tonia Wade, Assistant Manager

Ms Wade said: "Sharon is always prepared to go that extra mile. She builds a natural rapport with every customer without being pushy. She listens attentively to their problems and needs and addresses this accordingly. It’s almost if she can read their minds, with her natural approach. 

"She is an inspiration to me and the rest of the team. If all businesses had a manager like Sharon they could not fail but go from strength to strength. She is on first name terms with most of our customers who often ask for her personally, this is not something you can learn from a text book, it comes naturally and from the heart. If we could bottle her ability to make every customer feel special as she does, we’d make a fortune across the globe. Sharon has also had a testimony from Emma at Stockport who says that Sharon is eager and pays attention to detail within her work. She turns negatives into positives with a competitive attitude."

Angela Jaques - Hair Express

Nominated by - Debbie Stock, Manager

Ms Stock said: "Angela is a leading role model for the team. She is very friendly, bubbly and is always willing to help others. Angela is hard working and punctual young lady. Her customer service skills are excellent and always listens to clients needs, and goes the extra mile to please clients. Angela is always happy and cheerful and is a credit to the team."

Karen Mills - Mecca Bingo

Nominated by - Gary Talor, Manager

Mr Taylor said: "Karen is a very loyal member of the team, having worked at Mecca from before it opened in April 1996. She is well respected by her colleagues for being ultra efficient and dedicated to her job and to helping others to ensure that the business runs smoothly at all times. Karen is very resourceful and always looks for opportunities to make everyone’s life easier. She is also the clubs Waste Watcher ensuring that we recycle as much material as possible and her efforts have resulted in Mecca Rochdale being among the top 5 clubs in the country. Karen’s experience in many areas of the club means she has a wealth of knowledge and sets high standards for everyone else to follow, to deliver the best possible customer experience."

Graham Hurst - Mecca Bingo

Nominated by Gary Taylor, Manager

Mr Taylor said: "Graham knows the meaning of “having a sense of responsibility” to his employer, his fellow work colleagues and the customers, he always manages to carry out his work with a good sense of humour and a smile on his face. Graham who works full time at Mecca can be found on the car park in all kinds of weather at 8.30am. He makes sure that it is clean and tidy, he also helps to stop the garden area from becoming overgrown as well as being on hand to help and advise any motorist wanting to park. Graham can often be found inside the building as well. He helps to provide excellent customer service to all our members. Nothing is too much trouble for him whoever might ask for help. It may be washing up in the kitchen, waiting on clearing table’s right through the whole spectrum of tasks to ensure a good customer experience to all that enter.
Graham regularly goes above and beyond the call of duty by buying sweets on his way to work to offer to the customers when they arrive."

Kirsty Buxton - Shelly B's

Nominated by - Sharon Prendergast, Manager

Ms Prendergast said: "Kirsty has been employed at Shelly B’s since opening in August 2007. She works on Saturdays and also covers annual leave and covers when required during busy periods in the holidays. Kirsty was 14 years old when she started work at Shelly B’s, she was quick to learn and carries put her duties in a professional manner. She as always been punctual and hasn’t had any time off. Kirsty is very polite and courteous with customers and other members of staff. In June 2008 Kirsty’s older brother died she was also studying for her G C S E’s at the time. However Kirsty remained focussed and continued to work and study for her exams during this traumatic time Kirsty still worked to her Professional standard. I think that Kirsty deserves to be voted employee of the year as she is an ambassador of the youth of today. Well Done Kirsty."

Natalie Barker - Warren James

Nominated by - Wendy Thorpe, Manager

"Natalie is an enthusiastic, motivated and dedicated member of the team. A great support to all her team members, always willing to go that extra mile to make shopping in Rochdale a great experience. She offers a personal service to all, be it helping a child with a present for their mum or giving time and patience to a customer selecting charms for their new charm bracelet. 

"Always pleasant and polite, encouraging people to return to Rochdale town centre."
 
Lisa Jaques - Boots

Nominated by - Mike Webster, Manager

Mr Webster said: "Lisa joined Boots less than 2 years ago as a till operator. She has been exemplar colleague since joining and regularly gets customer compliments usually in double figures every week. Lisa then moved up to consultant and runs the Sun Shop and Xmas Gifts Department. She has been recognised by the area and the region winning customer care awards at both levels and has just started on a management training course which will help her achieve her ambition of team manager soon. Lisa is highly motivated and always wants to understand how the business works. She has completed more modules than any other staff member on the company training system to widen her knowledge and always help her colleagues without needing to be asked."

Zoe Chaplin – Ladies Only Ltd

Nominated by – Michelle Evans, Manager

Ms Evans said: "Zoe was my boss in previous employment and I have never seen anyone so energetic and conscientious. I believe she has been undervalued in previous jobs and I would love her to win Employee of the Year. Even though working reduced her tax credits to make it hardly worthwhile, she was eager to return to work after having children. Working as an instructor requires studying and exams, and although Zoe would not describe herself as academic, she has risen to the challenge and passed exams with flying colours. Zoe is the archetypal woman, having mastered the art of doing three things at once. She never lets me or her colleagues down and tries to juggle two children and a husband to work extra hours if someone else is off. She deserves some real recognition for her efforts and winning Employee of the Year 2009 would be apt. Not many employers can brag about having such a ‘rock’ in their team but Zoe really is just that."

Dimitri Bower – Westgrove, cleaning contractors for the Wheatsheaf Shopping Centre

Nominated by – Martin Ballard, Shopping Centre Manager

Mr Ballard said: "Dimitri has been a long serving, hard working member of the team at the Wheatsheaf for the past ten years; in that time he has seen Centre Managers come and go, and cleaning contractors come and go yet his diligence, standards and enthusiasm never alters. He frequently looks for smarter/safer ways to do tasks, and has been an important part of the team that has increased the week audit scores into the early 90%’s on a frequent basis. Dimitri, along with his colleague Neil, are charged with recycling the centre’s plastic and cardboard with all funds gained being pumped back into the service charge to help reduce the costs of running the building for the tenants – a welcome relief in this current climate, and a rewarding one too."

Nikki Parveen – National Westminster Bank

Nominated by – Christina Albert, Manager

Ms Albert said: "Nikki is an experienced cashier at Nat West in Rochdale, she ensures her experience with all the CSO’s helping them all to deliver outstanding customer service. She is passionate about delivering a great customer experience and always gives 120% in particular looking at saving customers money or making them money on their savings.

"This year there have been lots of instances where Nikki has talked to customers about their financial needs and has booked them in to see the experts. She has given so many customers a pay rise and everyone who she serves leaves happy having been touched by such a warm and friendly caring person. Nikki goes above and beyond her role requirements often staying late to help less experienced staff. She is a valued member of the team and deserves the title of Rochdale Employee of The Year."

Kay McCaffrey – GMP

Nominated by - Carl O’Brien, Town Centre Sergeant

Sergeant O'Brien said: "PC McCaffrey is the longest serving member of the Town Centre Team and brings over twenty years Policing experience to the Neighbourhood. Kay is committed to making Rochdale a safer place to visit and work and I have received positive remarks from local people and Business owners regarding her approachable attitude and willingness to get things done. Kay has worked with partner agencies to target and exclude our most persistent offenders who cause problems for businesses and ordinary shoppers on a daily basis achieving some excellent results."

Helen Mullineux – Rochdale Exchange Shopping Centre

Nominated by – Yvonne O’Reilly, Manager

Ms O'Reilly said: "Helen is a credit to our Guest Services team at Rochdale Exchange. She is invariably a very pleasant and approachable person who is well liked not only by our Guest Services team, but also by our retailers in the Rochdale Exchange and the general public. She has a good local knowledge, an excellent manner with people from all walks of life and is always willing to help and go that extra mile. At the Exchange, we take customer service very seriously and all of our staff attend training courses to ensure that we deliver the service that our customers expect. Helen is a shining example of customer service being delivered to the highest standard. Butterworth’s of Rochdale have also recommend Helen as ‘She is a very cheerful and conscientious member of staff and she has helped us with great ideas on improving our carbon footprint. She is a true asset to the centre’. Azuri said that ‘Helen is brilliant at her job, helpful and kind, and always has time to stop and chat with people who come into the Exchange.’ And Morellis in the Exchange said that she is very easy to talk to, friendly, helpful and very honest."