Shrewsbury shop assistant wins major award after going the extra mile

When Marks & Spencer sales assistant Vicky Meredith answered the phone in the Food Hall at the Darwin centre store she didn’t realise it would lead to her receiving M & S’s quarterly Regional Employee Award.

She said: “The customer was an elderly lady and she couldn’t come into town because of her age and the fact that she is disabled.

“A neighbour usually did her shopping but was away and she wanted to know if I could tell her all of our traditional products in the Food Hall so I suggested she give me her address and I would send her a list.

“We do have a large range of items and so I drew up the list and highlighted foods I thought she would be interested in and put the prices on and posted it out to her.

“I suggested things like our Simply Fuller For Longer range which are really nice and she sent a letter thanking me and saying that she hoped that M & S appreciated me and then she contacted my manager and sang my praises to him as well.”

Vicky, 28, from Belvidere, Shrewsbury, who has been working at the Darwin Centre store for four years, was nominated for the store’s Spotlight award and then won the monthly employee award for April before being named Employee of the Year for the Merseyside, Cheshire and North Wales area which includes Shrewsbury.

Shrewsbury Store Manager Martin Woodhouse said: “Vicky has done really well and shown a great commitment to customer service which is at the core of what we do.

“We have a great team here in Shrewsbury and it really is a lovely town to work in and this is such a busy store with its entrances onto the Darwin Centre and onto Pride Hill.”

Vicky, who graduated with a BSc in Forensic Science and Psychology from Staffordshire University, said: “I just really wanted to help this lady. She was so nice and she was upset because she couldn’t do her own shopping.

“We all try to help here and I really enjoy coming to work. It’s a lovely place and I like the company’s ethics and I think it has a wonderful range of products, especially in the Food Hall, there are so many really tasty things.

“The Forensic Science part of my degree doesn’t really come into it, it’s not CSI here, but the Psychology is very useful in dealing with people and in your own attitude as well.

“When I won the Spotlight award I got some lovely wall art as a prize and then a Fosil watch for being Employee of the Month and for the Regional award I’ve chosen an iPod docking station so I’ve done really well – I’ve also had a bottle of champagne from the manager and been invited for breakfast with the regional manager.

“It’s just good to be recognised and it shows the importance of customer service.”

Nicholas Pitt, Centre Director of the Darwin, Pride Hill and Riverside Shopping Centres, said: “I’m delighted that Vicky has been recognised for the way she went out of her way to help this elderly customer.

“M & S are an important part of the retail offer here at Shrewsbury Shopping and it is the range of stores that is so important with national groups sitting alongside independent shops.

“But whatever kind of shop it is it is vital to look after your customers and that’s what Vicky has done.”