Congratulations were in order for the UAE golf industry as the 59club Middle East & Africa (MEA) awards were announced.
Neal Graham and Mark Bull, formerly both with the Jumeirah Golf Estates have set up the 59club MEA by providing bespoke mystery-shopper performance measurement programmes 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 analyse their entire visitor and member experience, enabling them to set targets, monitor performance and ultimately make informed decisions to advance.
Based out of Dubai, Graham and Bull have more than 25 years’ experience in the region, working in the golf and hospitality industries, supporting venues and organisations across seven countries. Globally, 59club operates in four other different regions, UK, Europe, Asia and the United States.
Last week 59club hosted an awards ceremony at Jumeirah Golf Estates with a 9-hole golf event to honour its best performers across the region for having achieved the highest standards of sales and 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, F&B and management.
There was double celebrations for Abu Dhabi Golf Club, which saw two of its teams honoured after scooping Golf Membership Sales Team of the Year and Golf Agronomy Team of the Year.
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.
59club MEA ‘Service Excellence’ Award Winners
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, Dubai
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, Dubai; Saadiyat Beach Golf Club, Abu Dhabi; The Els Club, Dubai; Trump International Golf Club, Dubai; and Yas Links Abu Dhabi.
