Five Cork City Centre shops included in Retail Ireland’s Top100 Stores

Five Cork city centre stores have been selected in Retail Excellence Ireland’s top 100 stores, from almost 700 entries.  It recognises their superior commitment to customer service excellence and customer engagement.

Pictured above are some of the participants in Local Enterprise Office Cork City's Customer Service Training earlier this year.

Paul McGuirk, Head of Local Enterprise, Cork City said: ‘We are delighted that five Cork city centre stores have been included in this year’s top 100. We have worked closely with the City Centre Forum over the last two years to provide customer service training and supports to businesses as part of the Cork City Customer Service Charter. The fact that four of the five city centre businesses have undertaken this training is testament to the success of this.’

The five city centre stores included are 'Vibes and Scribes' bookshop on Lavitts Quay, 'Diane O’Mahony Jewellers' on Winthrop street, 'The Kilkenny Shop' on Emmet place, 'Specsavers' on Opera Lane and the visitors shop at Nano Nagle Place on Douglas Street. As part of the Top100 selection process, all store entrants were visited by a mystery shopper, with those exceeding service and standards criteria making it to the Top100 stores. 

Joan Lucey, owner of Vibes and Scribes and one of the main advocates for Cork City's customer service movement, said: ‘We are delighted with this result for the city and believe its another step in our customer service journey. Customers now want a real connection and a very high-quality service, so we all need to look regularly at our offering'.

Earlier in the year, Cork City was the first city in Europe to launch a Customer Service Charter, which was developed with the assistance of CIT School of Business. The City Centre Forum and the Local Enterprise Office are also planning two significant customer service events over the coming months.