Agent shines at awards
LEADING estate agent Butters John Bee has won a huge haul of trophies at the ESTAS, the property industry’s equivalent of The Oscars, and a national competition based on customer feedback which recognises and rewards the best of the best.
TV presenter Phil Spencer, who has hosted the ESTAS every year since their inception in 2003, said: “These awards are about making people happy, putting a smile on their faces and making a genuine difference to people’s lives.
“An agent’s role is about guiding people through one of the most stressful times in their lives and that’s not an easy job. The ESTAS help agencies to focus on customer service levels and that’s why firms keep coming back year after year.”
Butters John Bee took the gold medal for best agency group with between six and 20 offices, the gold and silver for best individual offices in West Midlands (Telford and Longton respectively) and the silver and bronze award within the north west category with Sandbach and Alsager.
In addition Diane Booth, senior sales negotiator at the Sandbach office, was one of just five from the 7,000 who were eligible to receive an ESTA for the people award.
Macclesfield branch manager Stefan Millington is delighted with the awards and believes they reflect the skill and dedication of all the staff.
He said: “We were overwhelmed that so many of our branches were shortlisted.
“We had six branches in the West Midlands (Shropshire and Staffordshire) category and six in the north west (Cheshire) category.
“We were also shortlisted for the best estate agency group and we have walked away with six awards, doubling our winning total for 2014.”
Stefan continued: “The ESTAS are crucial awards because they are based on customer feedback.
“They are hugely important to us as a business as it’s the feedback from the most important people involved in buying or selling who vote and those people are our customers who either buy or sell through Butters John Bee.
“Our customers comment on various aspects of the service they received personally giving a score on overall experience, the marketing of the property, how we handled the sale and if they felt that we offered value for money.
“The way in which they rate us then determines the final score for that branch, which results in the branch being shortlisted for an award.
“To win the gold for the best estate agency group in the UK, together with the individual branch awards of gold, two silvers and bronze is testament to the hard work and dedication that our sales team deliver every day.”
Simon Brown, owner of the ESTAS, said: “The ESTAS are special because shortlisted and winning firms are selected purely on the service they deliver to their clients. In fact just taking part shows an agent’s commitment to their customers and to be shortlisted is a great achievement in itself.
“For the winners this is the highest accolade they can receive in the industry.”
In addition to its multiple successes at the ESTAS, Butters John Bee was also recognised by The Times’ newspaper last year, winning the silver awards for the best medium-sized agency in the Midlands and the gold for the best auction estate agent.
Unlike the ESTAS, The Times’ awards are based on the opinion of industry experts.
Stefan added: “We take our levels of customer service very seriously because we know clients have a choice.
“We have always been very proud of our personal service and this proves we are delivering what we promise.”
Visit www.butters johnbee.com.