Gourmet Shakes employee Maddie Crellin has been crown Douglas City Customer Service champion for 2023.

The results were announced at a ceremony in the Douglas council chambers and Maddie was presented with the award by the Mayor of Douglas Janet Thommeny.

Maddie received the customer service trophy and a £150 voucher to use in a city centre business of her choice, which she chose JD Sports.

Maddie, who is 17, is the youngest ever winner of the competition following a public vote for the nine shortlisted finalists.

Chris Elvin of Boots was the runner-up and M&S staff member Peter Boussougou was in third place, receiving £100 and £50 vouchers respectively.

Members of the public voted via the Douglas City Centre Management Facebook page for the finalist they believe consistently provides outstanding customer service in the capital.

Douglas City Centre manager, Oliver Cheshire, said: ‘It is a pleasure to crown Maddie as the 2023 Douglas Customer Service Champion and many congratulations to her.

‘Since the awards were launched seven years ago, we have been able to find out more about the amazing talent at the heart of our community. I am a big believer that by providing outstanding customer service, not only do you send them way happy but you give them a reason to come back.’

Gourmet Shakes manager, Tim Brogan said: ‘Maddie’s been with us since she was 13 and she’s always been an asset for the company.

‘It’s great for us and customers have often come in and said how good Maddie is and praised her customer service.

‘All the other employees learn from her and she mentors the other staff and they thrive off of her good customer service skills.

‘She’s done a lot of events with us as well, such as Tynwald day and the festival of motoring in our catering vans.’

Mr Cheshire added: ‘The shoppers of Douglas clearly also value good customer service. Reading through the comments from members of the public has been very heart-warming.

‘I would like to thank them all for the excellent job they do as first-class ambassadors and the immense feeling of pride they show in their work on a daily basis.’

The finalists’ efforts were also praised by Councillor Janet Thommeny, who told the finalists, alongside their respective managers and family members, that all were fantastic ambassadors for the city’s retail experience.