London, 10th December 2009: Over 1500 business leaders and guests attended the National Customer Service Awards, held on Wednesday 9th December at The Grosvenor House Hotel in London, to celebrate the success of the UK’s most deserving customer service superheroes (on both a company and individual level) in 2009.

13 companies and 10 individuals were rewarded for their contributions to customer service over the past 12 months – and considering the calibre and sheer volume of entrants this year winning an award is no mean feat.

For the past 10 years, The National Customer Service Awards has celebrated hundreds of proponents of customer service excellence. Showcasing a vast array of companies and individuals across the UK, this national programme has gained prestige and grown into the most renowned, and hotly contested, awards programme in the customer service calendar. The programme recognises organisations who have taken a unique approach to overcoming major challenges to achieve success, whilst simultaneously maintaining the respect of their peers, co-workers and employees.

The winners of the National Customer Service Awards for 2009, are:

Young Customer Service Professional of the Year – Sponsored by Aviva
Mr Philip Glew, American Express

Customer Service Leader of the Year – Sponsored by BSkyB (SKY)
Mr Anthony Devane, American Express

The Field Service Award – Sponsored by Service Management magazine
Ms Heather Wilson, Anglian Water Services

Customer Service Newcomer of the Year – Sponsored by Royal Mail
Ms Jade Lowther, Aviva

Customer Service Back-Office Team of the Year – Sponsored Call Centre Focus magazine
Ms Sara Patterson, British Gas Cardiff

Customer Service Employer of the Year – Sponsored by Invest Northern Ireland
Butlins

Customer Service Contact Centre Professional of the Year – Sponsored by the Institue of Customer Service
Mr Mark Wilson, Capita Life & Pensions

Best Training or Development Project – Sponsored by Top 50 Call Centres for Customer Service
Ms Wendy Lister, Coloplast

Customer Service Team of the Year -Public Service & Education – Sponsored by Manchester Airport
Mr Robert Waite, Haringey Council

Customer Service Team of the Year – Financial Services – Sponsored by The National Business Awards
Ms Elaine Cain, Isle of Man Bank

Customer Service Contact Centre of the Year (up to 100 seats) – Sponsored by British Gas
Ms Diane Evans, Liverpool Housing Trust

Customer Service Contact Centre of the Year (over 100 seats) – Sponsored by Calcom Group
Mr Peter Sinden, LV=

Best Use of Technology Award – Sponsored by ClickSoftware
Ms Emma Wilkinson, Mark Two Distributors

Customer Service Team of the Year - B2B – Sponsored by Fujitsu
Mr George Bray, Rackspace

Customer Service Complaints Team of the Year – Sponsored by Customer Strategy
Ms Sharon Slinn, Telefonica O2 UK Limited

ICS Front-Line Professional of the Year Award – Telefonica O2 UK (O2)
Mr Bryan Molan, Torfaen County Borough Council

Customer Service Management Team of the Year – Sponsored by SOCAPIE
Mr John Gentry, Tower 42

Front-line Customer Service Team of the Year – Sponsored by Call Centre Focus
Ms Luna Gomez, Tower42

SOCAP Award for Innovation – Sponsored by Balfour Beatty Utility Solutions
Mr Randy Harris, Vangent

Customer Service Manager of the Year – Sponsored by Royal Bank of Scotland
Ms Pauline Wilson, Virgin Holidays

Customer Service Team of the Year - B2C – Sponsored by Customer Strategy
Mr Nick Taylor, Woodland Burial Parks

Decade of Excellence – Sponsored by Directors’ Club
Mrs Gloria Evans, Torfaen County Borough Council

Customer Service Team of the Year – Sponsored by Store Financial
Mr George Bray, Rackspace

The National Customer Service Awards took place at The Grosvenor House Hotel, Park Lane and was hosted by Dominic Holland, enjoyed support from Nick Hancock and a performance from Signature from Britain’s Got Talent fame.

Visit www.customerserviceawards.com for the full list of finalists and winners.

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For further information and images please contact:

The National Customer Service Awards
Genna Thatcher – Marketing Executive
Telephone: 020 7234 8712
Email: genna.thatcher@ubm.com
Visit: www.customerserviceawards.com