The winners of Service with a Smile 2016 award were announced during an award-giving ceremony held at The Palace hotel, Sliema. Smart Supermarket placed first, followed by Pavi and Pama Supermarkets in second and third place respectively. The company eCabs won the GRTU’s special award for good service.
The ceremony was addressed by Helena Dalli, Minister for Social Dialogue, Consumer Affairs and Civil Liberties, who spoke about the importance of a good quality service to consumers. She also emphasised the need to improve consumers’ shopping experience and highlighted the importance that local sellers offer their products and services online.
Dr Dalli referred to the Consumer Market Scoreboard, which placed Malta among the top three European countries with regards to business and consumer affairs, saying this positive result showed that Maltese consumers were well informed about their rights and obligations and this gave them confidence when they made their buying decisions.
Malta Competition and Consumer Affairs Authority chairwoman Helga Pizzuto said the main objective of the award was to encourage a better and stronger relationship between consumers and traders. She also spoke about the work the Office for Consumer Affairs was doing to encourage traders to adopt policies that give consumers more benefits than those established by law. A case in point is the Trust Mark scheme set up to facilitate the building of a good relationship, based on trust, between consumers and sellers. Ms Pizzuto also stressed the importance of collaborating more with business entities such as the GRTU.
The main objective of the award is to encourage a stronger relationship between consumer and trader
Joyce Borg, director general, Consumer Affairs, spoke on the work carried out by the Office for Consumer Affairs within the MCCAA, saying that besides safeguarding consumers’ rights, the office also helps businesses in ensuring that they are aware of their legal responsibilities towards consumers. This is mainly done through regular meetings with the business community and also by offering training on consumer-related legislation to businesses and their employees.
In fact, the 10 shortlisted companies announced during the prize-giving ceremony will be offered free training on customer care and consumer-related legislation. The winners of the Service with a Smile award were voted for by consumers who had the possibility to choose the seller or business they felt offered them a service with a smile.
The voting questionnaire was available on the MCCAA Facebook page and website. Consumers could vote for any business that sold products or services from its premises or online. Six customers selected randomly from those participating in the voting process were presented with a €100 cash voucher by the Minister during the award ceremony.
The 10 traders who received the majority of votes were vetted by a jury which had the responsibility to ensure that the nominated traders abided by the award’s code of conduct. For instance, the jury verified that the nominated companies were adhering to all applicable regulations, that their business premises were accessible and safe, that prices in their retail outlets were indicated according to the Price Indication Regulations, that consumer complaints were dealt with in a timely manner and that, whenever possible, they avoided that disputes with consumers were referred to the Consumer Claims Tribunal by opting for resolution through mediation.
Mystery shopping also played an important role in verifying if the nominees were adopting a customer-friendly relationship. The MCCAA mystery shoppers also checked if the nominated companies adopted return policies that add and not diminish consumer rights.
The third edition of Servizz bi Tbissima will be launched by the MCCAA in the coming months.
Service with a Smile 2016 – nominees
■ Smart Supermarket, Birkirkara
■ Pavi Supermarket, Qormi
■ Pama Supermarket, Mosta
■ Park Towers Supermarket, Santa Venera
■ Tower Supermarket, Sliema
■ Debenhams, Sliema
■ Chains Supermarket, Fgura
■ GS Superstore, Naxxar
■ Orsay, Birkirkara
■ Homemate, Mrieħel
odette.vella@mccaa.org.mt
Odette Vella is director, Information, Education and Research Directorate, Office for Consumer Affairs, Malta Competition and Consumer Affairs Authority.