Visit England ROSE Award WINNERS!!!
The VisitEngland ROSE Awards are given annually to 100 VisitEngland quality assessed accommodation businesses that go the extra mile to provide excellent customer service. And guess who’s only just blooming gone and been awarded one in 2022? Oh yeah!
This is what I read, when I opened the email from the Managing Director of VisitEngland;
“Congratulations! I am delighted to announce that you have been awarded a 2022 VisitEngland ROSE Award in Recognition Of Service Excellence.”
Well, you coulda knocked me down with a feather! All that being nice to humans has paid off! I mean, it has been paying off for years, in as much as we have built a really successful business, with a great reputation, based in part on simply being nice to people. And as many of you will know, I repeatedly say that “It ain’t rocket science”! But aside from having so many happy customers returning time and again, and recommending us to their family and friends, it is an incredibly proud accolade to be recognised in this way!
Applying to VisitEngland to be rated and assessed in minute detail, was (and is) a nerve-wracking thing. A bit like when you read every new review. Because this is way more than us saying to you “yeah, we’re brilliant at we do”. Anyone can say that, and many do! We try not to. We would rather say “Don’t listen to us, look at what hundreds of satisfied guests say about us”. Or in this case, “Don’t listen to us, look at what the actual national tourism people for England say about us”! They’re kinda the big guys in our industry. It’s like getting a nod of approval from Simon Cowell.
Not only have we been rated with GOLD AWARDS every single year that we have been rated, for every single Barn and Barge that we have ever had, but now, out of the blue they have recognised us for service excellence with just 99 other businesses in the country! That’s a pretty good feeling I have to tell you!
Nominations for the award are based on a variety of feedback including our annual VisitEngland quality assessment, the observations of our assessor, customer feedback direct to VisitEngland and online customer reviews. The final judging panel also looks for innovation that sets our business apart. Seriously chuffed with this!
The award certificates were presented at a celebratory afternoon tea, which took place on Thursday 5th May 2022 in a swanky hotel in Bedfordshire.
As the two blokes that meet guests most often at Woodfarm, Carl and Tim went along to hobnob and rub shoulders with the great and good of the English tourism industry. The whole thing is a team effort, but we only had two spaces, otherwise there woulda been more of us.
We had a drinks reception, followed by a wonderful afternoon tea. It was all to celebrate the achievement of 100 businesses in England, with an awards presentation throughout the afternoon where our certificate was presented, and as you can see, photos taken. We were in fabulous company on our table, with Jan and Andrew Cobb, winners from the Youth Hostel and Camping category, from Cote Ghyll YHA in Yorkshire, and Robert Rous, and Emma and Aran Cone from another Suffolk winner, in the wedding venue category, at Bruisyard Hall.
A huge thank you to the entire Woodfarm Team, and to every guest who has ever taken the trouble to write us one of our many hundreds of Five Star reviews on Tripadvisor, Facebook and Google.
Oh, and to Mr. Midwood, who once told me that I would never amount to anything; Sir, I think I’m prouder of my achievements, than you could ever have been with yours as you bullied and shouted at kids, and threw chalk board rubbers at their heads, you angry little man.
