I’ll be completely truthful with
you – marketing, PR, publicity – put it however you want, at the end of the day
the publicity we have received as finalists in so many awards has been
priceless. Whether we are a winner of not we are allowed to use a finalist logo
on all our publicity material which can make us stand out from other parks in
the area.
We also get so much more from
them – the learning curve has increased sharply since we started entering. Each
award has its own judging process – but for each of the caravan
park/self-catering awards this process has included a mystery visit and a
mystery phonecall. The feedback we get from these visits has been invaluable.
We see the site everyday – the mystery visits make us see it through a
completely different set of eyes.
Judges have come up with new ideas that we
have been able to put into practise, they have given us advice on where
modifications could be made. Extra signage is on order for our tourist
information area specifically due to a comment made in the feedback report in
an award application last year. Both shower blocks shown on Look North in
October last year have now been completely retiled as we could see they needed
brightening up.
No-one has run a course on how to
run a caravan park – 12 years later we are still learning – we can’t build new ideas sat behind a desk –
we have to find new ways of learning. The only cost involved in the awards is
time (plus new dress, bag and shoes) but the rewards are incalculable.
How do the Outstanding Customer Service awards differ?
We were nominated for the
customer service awards by guests and they mean so much to both of us. Last
year a child fell over on the park – no fault of ours I hasten to add – his parents
had been drinking outside their tent so had been unable to take him to
hospital. Instead Damian took them all – he waited with them at Malton hospital
and when a transfer to York hospital was needed Damian stepped in to help
again. He waited at York hospital with them until all x-rays were completed and
then brought them back to the site. Damian didn’t do that because it’s part of
his job – he did it because he is a genuinely nice guy (although when I
sprained my knee back in February it was 2 days before he would take me to hospital).
Will you be entering more?
To be honest we haven’t made that
decision yet. There is alot of time that goes into each entry and its knowing
what to put into each entry. Obviously we have made huge improvements to the
shower block this year so there is scope for an entry this year but a time will
come where we can’t do that. We will just have to wait and see – if Nick enters
we will have to J A
younger guest has asked if he can enter the girls into an awards so we may have
to hold our own.
