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SPARK Awards |
UK. BAA Retail hosted the inaugural SPARK Awards on 28 November to reward its car parking and car rental partners.
The award ceremony, held in London’s Waldorf Hilton hotel, was hosted by Ronnie Waddell, Travel Services Director at BAA Retail, and television presenter Richard Hammond.
The awards honoured the “excellent standards of customer service provided by the company’s business partners at its airport car parks and car rental outlets”, explained BAA Retail. SPARK 2005 was supported by NCP, APCOA-Parking UK, Meteor, Central Parking System, Chauffeur Parking Systems, AVIS, Hertz, Budget, Enterprise, Europcar, National, Alamo, Guy Salmon and Dollar Thrifty.
Waddell commented: “The SPARK Awards were initiated to recognise the successful working relationship BAA Retail shares with its car parking and car rental partners. Together we’re committed to constantly improving the quality of service offered to travellers, and ensure the provision of a first-class airport experience. This annual event provided recognition of the hard work and a gesture of thanks, to all of the teams and individuals that make our car parking and car rental operations so successful.”
Judging took place during October 2005 and included: Quality of Service Monitor questionnaires; over 7,000 mystery traveller reports; more than 21,000 customer voting forms and colleague nominations; plus BAA local operations nominations.
The SPARK 2005 awards scheme proved instrumental in driving up levels of customer service across all seven of BAA’s airports and plans are already in place for the SPARK 2006 scheme, added BAA Retail.
Award categories
A trophy plus £1,000 were given to each of the following category winners:
– Best Team Customer Service Car Parking: Southampton Airport, Long Stay Car Park, operated by Meteor Parking
– Best Team Customer Service Car Rental: Gatwick Airport, Europcar Car Rental
– Best Overall Car Park: Heathrow Airport, Meteor Parking, Park One
– Best Overall Car Rental Station: Aberdeen Airport, AVIS Rent a Car
– Best Overall Car Parking Operator: APCOA Parking
– Best Overall Car Rental Operator: AVIS Rent a Car
– Best New Car Parking Initiative: Gatwick Airport National Car Parks (NCP) both North and South Terminals – Samantha Coster
– Best New Car Rental Initiative: Stansted Airport. Budget Rent-A-Car, Andy Lewis
– Best Individual Customer Service Car Parking: Gatwick Airport, Summer Special Car Park operated by APCOA Parking, Laura Penfold
– Best Individual Customer Service Car Rental: Edinburgh Airport, Hertz Rent a Car – Alison O’Hara
– Most Outstanding Individual Contribution: Heathrow APCOA, Parking Express – Kevin Jordan
– Most Unusual Customer Related Experience: Heathrow Airport, National Alamo Car Rental – Christine Morgan-Jelpke
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BAA launches awards for car park and rental partners – 18/07/05
