Burnley to host inaugural town centre Customer Service Awards

The awards, which have been organised by Burnley Business Improvement District (BID) with support from Charter Walk, will be held at the Mechanics Theatre on Tuesday, July 4th.

Sponsored by Charter Walk Shopping Centre and Financial Affairs, the awards have been created to recognise and celebrate the great customer service that the town’s retailers, independent businesses and hospitality venues demonstrate on a daily basis.

Throughout May, mystery shop visits took place across over 60 different shops, bars, restaurants and service providers by industry leaders Storecheckers.

The information gathered during these visits, along with a judging panel featuring the leader of Burnley Council and a public vote, will form the basis for the awards of which there are eight different categories.

These include:

Best Business Overall

Best National Retailer

Best Independent Retailer

Best Service Provider

Best Food Retailer

Employee of the Year (nominated and a voting mechanism)

Burnley Town Centre Ambassador

Best Long Serving Business

This year’s awards have their very own theme – Burnley BID’s Christmas-themed Customer Service Excellence Awards – and the ceremony will kick off at 6-30pm with a glittering drinks reception.

Following this, and keeping with the festive theme, there will be appearances from The Grinch, The Red Hot Santa Band, Dancing Elves and even Father Christmas himself.

Speaking ahead of the awards, Burnley BID project manager Andrew Dean said: “We know that our businesses work extremely hard to welcome each and every customer and they all contribute towards fostering the town’s friendly and hospitable vibe.

“These awards have been created to shine a spotlight on the companies and organisations that go the extra mile to do this and to celebrate their efforts.

"Thank you to all 62 businesses who volunteered to take part in the mystery shopping – it was great to see so many of you wanting to get involved!”

Debbie Hernon, centre manager of Charter Walk Shopping Centre, added: "This is a fabulous opportunity to put the spotlight on the excellent customer service delivered by our town centre businesses.”

The award winners will be announced on the Discover Burnley Facebook page so make sure you’re following it to stay up to date: www.facebook.com/DiscoverBurnleyBID.