Month: May 2021

FINEST SERVICE PROVIDERS HONOURED AT 59CLUB MIDDLE EAST & AFRICA SERVICE EXCELLENCE AWARDS SUPPORTED BY GOLFBREAKS

High-profile venues across the Middle East & Africa recognised for service excellence in glitzy ceremony hosted at Jumeirah Golf Estates, Dubai.

The finest golf properties across the Middle East & Africa saw their teams descend on Jumeirah Golf Estates, Dubai, on Wednesday May 26, 2021, with the hope of claiming an industry ‘Oscar’ at the annual 59club MEA Service Excellence Awards.

A day which started with a 9-hole Team Shamble on The Earth Course, ended in a glittering awards ceremony as the market-leading performance-management specialist continued to honour its best performers across the region for having achieved the highest standards of sales & customer service excellence across 2020/21. 

The winners in the 59club MEA Service Excellence Awards are determined by scores collected from its impartial mystery shopping audits, which evaluate the experience afforded to visiting golfers and prospective members, in accordance with objective benchmarking criteria. 

On the night, 59club MEA presented 16 awards, recognising ‘service excellence’ across all areas of the businesses – Sales, Service, Operations, Retail, Golf course, Food & Beverage and Management. 

And, for one property, there was double celebrations as Abu Dhabi Golf Club saw two of its teams honoured after scooping Golf Membership Sales Team of the Year and Golf Agronomy Team of the Year.  Pictured from left to right: Scott Sellars, Golf Operations Manager of Abu Dhabi Golf Club and Clinton Southorn, Cluster Director of Agronomy.

Speaking of their winning performance, Francisco de Lancastre, Cluster General Manager said; “We are delighted to receive these two awards, as it is a testament to the hard work and effort demonstrated by the team over 2020. Working with 59club MEA throughout the year assists us to monitor customer service data and constantly strive to improve and evolve our renowned service and facility standards”.  

Other Teams honoured on the night were Abu Dhabi City Golf Club who were awarded Food and Beverage Team of the Year, Emirates Golf Club who claimed Golf Operations Team of the Year and The Els Club, Dubai having scooped Golf Retail Team of the Year. 

While Trump International Golf Club, Dubai went on to receive the My59 Ultimate Service Excellence Award for their continued commitment to engage, analyze and enrich their member and guest experience, utilizing a collateral of survey tools across 59club’s software platform. 

The final awards of the evening and always a highlight of proceedings saw 59club MEA present their Industry Benchmark of excellence, it’s Gold and Silver Flag Designations. These highly prized accolades recognise properties that provide excellent facilities for golfers to enjoy, as well as having achieved the required standard of customer service throughout the year. 

This year, 59club MEA presented 8 ‘Gold Flags’, the deserving winners were: Abu Dhabi Golf Club; Dubai Creek Golf and Yacht Club; Emirates Golf Club; Jumeirah Golf Estates; Saadiyat Beach Golf Club; The Els Club, Dubai; Trump International Golf Club, Dubai; and Yas Links Abu Dhabi. Whilst 2 ‘Silver Flags’ went to Abu Dhabi City Golf Club and The Track, Meydan Golf. 

Of this year’s awards, Mark Bull, Director at 59club MEA, commented: “ It was an honour and privilege to host the first service excellence awards outside of the UK, special thanks to our host venue, Jumeirah Golf Estates and Golfbreaks for their support of the event, as well as all our event partners.  Congratulations to all nominees and winners on the night, all of whom can be proud of the levels of service provided throughout 2020 and we look forward to continuing to support the industry in driving standards forward.”

59club MEA ‘Service Excellence’ Award Winners 2020/21

Golf Membership Sales Team of the Year, sponsored by Worldwide Golf: Abu Dhabi Golf Club

Golf Retail Team of the Year, sponsored by Sunset Events:  The Els Club, Dubai

Food and Beverage Team of the Year, sponsored by African & Eastern:  Abu Dhabi City Golf Club

Golf Agronomy Team of the Year, sponsored by Toro/Delta Turf Care:  Abu Dhabi Golf Club

Golf Operations Team of the Year, sponsored by Golf Genius:  Emirates Golf Club

My 59 Ultimate Service Excellence, sponsored by Club Car: Trump International Golf Club, Dubai

Silver Flag Designations: Abu Dhabi City Golf Club and The Track, Meydan Golf.

Gold Flag Designations: Abu Dhabi Golf Club; Dubai Creek Golf and Yacht Club; Emirates Golf Club; Jumeirah Golf Estates; Saadiyat Beach Golf Club; The Els Club, Dubai; Trump International Golf Club, Dubai; and Yas Links Abu Dhabi

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Dubai, UAE: 59club Middle East and Africa is delighted to announce the nominees ahead of its Service ‘Excellence’ Awards Ceremony, as the market-leading performance management specialist continues to honor those responsible for delivering the best customer experiences across golf & hospitality.  

This year’s awards ceremony; supported by Golfbreaks.com and our Event Partners will take place on Wednesday, May 26, 2021 at Jumeirah Golf Estates. A 9-hole Texas Scramble competition will proceed the evening’s Gala dinner and Awards presentation. 

The nominees for the Service ‘Excellence’ titles are determined by scores collected from an independent panel of mystery shoppers, utilizing 59club’s unique, non-subjective benchmarking criteria.  Measurements to qualify for these highly recognized industry accolades includes a series of audits that focus on the property’s service levels, sales performance, staff attitude, internal processes and facility standards.

Leading this year’s nominations for these illustrious accolades are Abu Dhabi Golf Club; Dubai Creek Golf and Yacht Club; and The Els Club, Dubai, who all feature in 3 of the award titles, with Abu Dhabi City Golf Club; Jumeirah Golf Estates; and Yas Links, Abu Dhabi all receiving multiple nominations. 

Other venues also nominated for a Service Excellence Award include; Emirates Golf Club; Trump International Golf Club, Dubai and The Track, Meydan Golf.

Despite a condensed auditing schedule, caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, 59club MEA continued to deliver the necessary quota of mystery shopper audits across their affiliate properties, further cementing the shared commitment between 59club and its client properties to realise the very highest levels of customer service across the region.

The night’s proceedings will also see venues honored for their commitment to engage, analyze and enrich their member and guest experience, utilizing a collateral of survey tools across the my59 software platform.

59club’s coveted industry benchmark of excellence – its gold, silver and bronze flag designations will also be awarded on the night to those venues that have delivered the most consistent golf experiences, as 59club MEA continues to recognize properties that provide excellent facilities for golfers to enjoy, as well as having achieved the required standard of service throughout 2020/21. 

Neal Graham, Director of 59club Middle East and Africa commented: “The 59club MEA Service Excellence Awards, recognizes the industry’s most successful venues for delivering the highest levels of customer service and facility standards across the region. 

It’s even more prevalent than in previous years for us to continue honoring great team achievements realized, despite the challenging circumstances we all faced as an industry throughout 2020. And, as customer expectations continue to evolve, the data 59club MEA continues to provide, will assist clubs to shape their service standards moving forward.”

Full list of Nominees: – 

Golf Membership Sales Team of the Year:

Abu Dhabi Golf Club

The Els Club, Dubai

Yas Links, Abu Dhabi

Golf Retail Team of the Year:

Abu Dhabi City Golf Club

The Els Club, Dubai

The Track, Meydan Golf

My59 Service Excellence  – Ultimate Award:

Abu Dhabi Golf Club

Trump International Golf Club, Dubai

Yas Links, Abu Dhabi

Food and Beverage Team of the Year:

Abu Dhabi City Golf Club

Dubai Creek Golf and Yacht Club

The Els Club, Dubai

Golf Agronomy Team of the Year:

Abu Dhabi Golf Club

Dubai Creek Golf and Yacht Club

Jumeirah Golf Estates

Golf Operations Team of the Year:

Dubai Creek Golf and Yacht Club

Emirates Golf Club

Jumeirah Golf Estates

About 59club Middle East and Africa:

59club Middle East and Africa is the market leader in providing bespoke mystery shopper performance measurement programs for the Golf, Leisure, Spa, Events, F&B and Hotel Industries. Specifically designed to elevate sales and service standards, 59club provides ‘Mystery Shopper Audits’, ‘Customer Satisfaction Surveys’, and ‘Training Services’, empowering venue managers to analyze their entire visitor and member experience, enabling them to set targets, monitor performance and ultimately make informed decisions to advance. Based out of Dubai, Directors, Neal Graham and Mark Bull have over 25 years’ experience in the region, working in the golf and hospitality industries, supporting venues and organizations across 7 countries. 59club operates in four other different regions, UK, Europe, Asia and USA.

For further information contact:

Mark Bull: mark@59clubmea.com +971 50 538 4841

Neal Graham: neal@59clubmea.com +971 50 553 7989