Schuit shoots to the top - again

Lorraine Schuit, Ola Milky Lane Pavilion franchisee, celebrates the team’s South African Council of Shopping Centres’ Special Star Award for excellent customer service with her management team.

At a South African Council of Shopping Centres' (SACSC) awards dinner held at the ICC on 17 July, Schuit was presented with a Special Star Award for excellent customer service in the retailer category for Fast Food. In October last year, she won the Franchise Association of Southern Africa (FASA) KwaZulu-Natal Franchisee of the Year 2007 Award.

The SACSC Special Star Awards were introduced in six regions of South Africa for the first time in 2006 to recognise and honour those retailers and service providers who have delivered an exceptional level of customer service and have contributed significantly to the South African shopping centre industry. Nedbank Corporate has committed to sponsoring and supporting these awards for the next two years to the tune of R1.7 million.

Once an outlet has been nominated by shopping centre management, customers or members, the SACSC sends secret shoppers to evaluate the service. Finalists need to score over 85% in the surveys. The winners are selected by national judges who travel to each region to review the finalists.

Schuit was one of the top scorers, but she quickly gives praise where it is due…

“The team does the work - they should get the credit and we will be enjoying a team celebration,” she says.