Published on: Monday, 9 October 2017
Last updated: Monday, 9 October 2017
Laura won the title at Greater Anglia’s ‘Everyday Legends Awards’ which were held last week to celebrate the good work done by rail staff across the network to help customers and make the railway a better place.
The judges were impressed with Laura’s efforts to raise £3,000 for charity, in which she enlisted colleagues and members of her own family, turning up on her days off to support colleagues and help customers when services are disrupted, keeping the station spotlessly clean and regularly decorating it with bunting for events such as Trooping of the Colour, her efforts to produce a station newsletter to keep customers informed, done in her own time, and caring for her colleagues and customers – recently baking a personalized train-shaped cake for a colleague who was becoming a train driver.
Greater Anglia’s Managing Director, Jamie Burles, said, “Laura really deserves this award. She brings so much energy and enthusiasm to her role which makes a big difference to customers and their experience of the station. I would like to thank her for everything she does, she is a huge asset to the team.”
Customers were also asked to nominate their favourite member of staff for an award and they singled out conductor, Angelo Bonandi for special praise, with the Customer Relations Team receiving ‘Highly Commended’.
Southend Victoria’s driver team was crowned Team of the Year after becoming renowned for their humorous and cheerful announcements as well as recording the lowest ever levels of absence.
Francis Mills, Customer Relations, was named the company’s Charity Champion of the Year. Colleagues described him as an ‘inspiration’ after he raised thousands for Batten’s Disease charity the BDFA and Cancer Research UK by cycling from London to Paris and running several marathons including Brighton, Amsterdam - and London twice.
Other winners included Justin Hope who was named Innovator of the Year, Kim Bucknell, Head of Revenue Protection who was named Leader of the Year. Mark Tye, Special Events & Compliance Manager, was nominated for Making Life a Little Easier and David Warwick, Train Service Delivery Manager, was named Best Newcomer.
Greater Anglia’s Managing Director, Jamie Burles, said, “Everyday, colleagues across the network do their utmost to provide excellent customer service and make our passengers’ lives a little easier. I would like to congratulate and thank not only the winners and nominees but everyone across the company who works hard every day to deliver excellent service and pleasant journeys to our passengers.”