MEDIA RELEASE DATE: 20 August 2008

Council wins national award for customer service

Providing excellent customer service is something the South Taranaki District Council puts significant emphasis on as part of its training and daily practice. It was with much satisfaction then, that the council was recognised for its efforts when staff member Raewyn Smith won the national Customer Service Representative of the Year Award at last week's Association of Local Government Information Management (ALGIM) conference held in Dunedin.

Council CEO, Craig Stevenson, says Raewyn’s award was a fantastic achievement which reflects positively on the whole organisation.

“Our staff work hard to provide a prompt and efficient service to customers and it's great to see those efforts recognised by a national organisation like ALGIM,” says Mr Stevenson.

“STDC has developed a reputation for being efficient, innovative and punching well above our weight,” he says. “This recognition adds to a growing list of national awards the council has now won.”

Contact centre manager, Jan Johnston, who nominated Raewyn for the award says the service she provides is second to none.

“Raewyn treats all customers with care and respect. She always has a smile on her face and nothing is ever a problem. People often call the council because they have a problem or an issue and Raewyn always goes the extra mile to try to solve their problems and deliver excellent customer service,” she says.

As for Raewyn, she puts her success down to being part of a great team, having a passion for helping others and working for an organisation which values both its staff and its customers.

“It sounds very clichéd, but this award wasn’t about me it was about the whole team – they all do an awesome job.”

This was the first year the ALGIM Customer Service Award was presented.

ENDS

© Scoop Media