The 2012 South African Service Awards named the winners of the second annual customer service awards, which were announced in early March at a ceremony in Johannesburg.

The awards include seven categories — banking, short-term insurance, ATM deploywer, security services, telecommunication services, hotels and resorts, and car rental (hire) — and recognize companies in South Africa that “push the boundaries of exceptional service.” Customers nominate and vote for companies by giving a rating on the quality of customer service.

More than 200,000 ratings were received between Sept. 1, 2012 and Nov. 30, 2012. 

Andrew Cook, CEO of Smoke Customer Care Solutions, created the South African Service Awards to provide an award in South Africa based on customer opinion and to help recognize companies. “There is so much bad publicity around customer service, so we decided that it was time to recognize the companies that put the effort into making a difference with regards to customer service,” he said.

The 2012 South African Service Award Winners

Travel and Related Services – Car Hire

• 1st Place: First Car Rental

• 2nd Place: Avis Rent a Car

• Excellent Customer Service: Tempest Car Hire

• Excellent Customer Service: Europcar

Travel and Related Services – Hotels & Resorts (Category sponsored by First Car Rental)

• 1st Place:  The City Lodge Group

Financial Services – Banking

• 1st Place: Nedbank

• 2nd Place: Absa

Financial Services – Short-term Insurance

• 1st Place: Indwe Risk Services

• 2nd Place: MiWay Insurance Ltd

Financial Services – ATM Deployer

• 1st Place: Spark ATM Systems

Security – Services (Category sponsored by Indwe Risk Services)

• 1st Place: ADT Security

Telecommunications – Services

• 1st Place: MTN SP

• 2nd Place: Vodacom

Entries for the 2013 awards are open from March 1, 2013 to Aug. 31, 2013. The customer rating period will run from Sept. 1, 2013 to Nov. 30, 2013.

More information about the 2012 winners and how to register can be found on www.saservice.co.za.