It’s day ten of the Best Shops in Ireland competition, 2014 and the nominations are landing fast and thick.
Today the focus is on service that puts a smile on readers faces: the kind that inspires you to tell others via old-fashioned word of mouth and social media.
Lyons, Late and Early, a small supermarket in Castlebar, is run by the “most outstanding, caring and witty brothers” and their respective nephews, writes John Loftus. Why should they win the Best Service award? “Because they always address their regular clientele by their first name with a most relevant remark of their personal situation while remaining confidential and respectful.”
Katherine Butterly found the service at Susan Hunter Lingerie in Dublin 2 where she was fitted and bought her wedding underwear, worthy of a mention.”It kept everything just where it should be despite the fact that I was getting married shortly after giving birth to a nine pound baby.”
Today’s most heartfelt nomination comes from Ann Breen who would like to commend plus-size boutique Tempted in Raheny, Dublin 5, for customer service above and beyond the call of duty. “Recently when my husband died I realised I did not have a suitable dress to wear to his funeral. I rang Tempted where I had bought a dress the week before and when I explained my situation the owner offered to come to my house with the dresses she had that she thought might be suitable. She drove to my house, which took over an hour, and fitted me, refusing to take money on the day saying I could talk to her when life settled down. That outstanding level of service is worth its weight in gold and is what makes a shop great.”
This is the third year of the Irish Times competition which launched in recession-blighted 2012. This year we've enlisted experts in their fields to sit on our judging panel, a new feature of the competition. Simon Pratt, MD of Avoca, Edmund Shanahan, a retail, fashion and homewares consultant, fashion designers and Frockadvisor columnists Sonya Lennon and Brendan Courtney and Irish Times journalist Alanna Gallagher.
We’ve had some great “nominate us” pictures sent through from nominees. Keep them coming. We will publish the best ones.
How do you vote your favourite shop? Go to Irishtimes.com/bestshops and fill in the form. Follow the competition on social media: #bestshops14
Get voting.
