DUBAI - As many as ten individual staff working at Dubai International Airport and its strategic partners were honoured at Dubai Airport Cares' 3rd annual Customer Service Champions League Awards, at a ceremony at the Al Yazi Auditorium of Emirates Aviation College today.
Addressing the gathering Jamal Al Hai, Director of Strategy and Management Excellence at DCA said that customer service is at the core of the existence of any organisation, especially one that serves the public at large. "Everything that we do here at the department's offices, inside the terminals and the concourse, on the tarmac and the runways, as well as on board; all of it is aimed at just one simple thing: How to make it better for the passengers. It all boils down to achieving and continually enhancing customer satisfaction," he said.
He noted that the existence of the Dubai Airport Cares programme, launched at the hands of HH Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, in 1998 and the institution of the customer service awards are indicative of the significance Dubai International Airport attaches to customer service.
The DAC Champions League was launched last year by HH Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President of DCA and Chairman and CEO of Emirates, to motivate staff into going the extra mile and providing a high standard of service to passengers and customer. It follows three main procedures: First, the nominations are filed by supervisors to the DAC team, which then reviews all submissions and invites candidates for individual interviews. The candidates are assessed according to the scoring system in place. Those scoring above the pass mark move into the next phase, which involves the 'Mystery Shopper'.
The Mystery Shopper acts either as a passenger or customer or guest and evaluates the candidate in question according to certain guidelines. The procedure is conducted every month. The candidate with the highest score at the end of each month receives a gold star, a certificate and cash reward, while the second highest scorer is given a silver star, a special certificate and cash reward. Similarly the third highest scorer receives a bronze star, a citation and cash reward.
There were five categories for the award, including Best Organisation, Best Individual, Best Supporting Supervisor, Division with maximum number of medals, and a special recognition award. Dubai Duty Free was honoured with the award for best organisation, followed by Emirates and Dubai Police (Airport), while DDF and Police shared the top honours in the division with the maximum medals category. Emirates was placed second for securing maximum medals, while Dnata and DCA shared the third place.
In the individual category, Abdul Qader Abdulla Ali (Police) received top honours, while Tahir Ali Haider (Police) and Ilham El Moussaoui (DDF) were placed second and third. Obaid Saeed Al Alely of the Police was adjudged the best in the best supporting supervisor category, while Saad Ibrahim Saad, also of Police and Mahesh Chetnani were placed second and third respectively.
Huraiz Al Mur Bin Huraiz, Director of DCA's Commercial Directorate, Saud Abdulla, Mansour Rabeea, and Sunil Menon were honoured with the Special Recognition Award.
Shamma Majid Lootah, Manager of Press Relations and Communication at DCA and Team Leader of DAC, spoke on the significance of customer service. Describing it as the human factor, she said "it is so important that technology, variety, and opulence can collectively fail in its absence. In fact in most developing countries, cash-strapped establishments that have no option but to compromise on these aspects of business compensate it with excellent customer service; and it works."
-Ends-
Zaigham Ali
Senior Officer, Press Relations & Communication
Marketing & Corporate Communication
Dubai Department of Civil Aviation
Office Direct +971 4 216 6916,
Facsimile +971 4 2244 113
© Press Release 2007
