Midlands estate agency sweeps the floor at industry awards

Stafford-based Dourish & Day scooped the customer service prizes, including the National Grand Prix Award for the best single agent office in the UK, at a ceremony at the Grosvenor House, Park Lane, London on May 10 attended by 1,000 of the UK's top property professionals.

Director Steve Dourish said: "The ESTAS offer fantastic insight into how our customers really feel about the service we offer. We find clients are far more reflective and truthful about their experience especially when the reviews could have been 12 months following their house move. It's always great as a business owner to see the dashboard and use the enthusiastic comments to showcase our brand."

Dourish & Day beat thousands of agents from around the UK to bring their coveted prizes home to Staffordshire. The awards won include Best Local Agency Group UK, Best Local Agency Group in the West Midlands, Best Estate Agent for Guild Members, and Gold for the Best Office in the West Midlands plus a cluster of county awards. The agency's lettings division came out on top too with Gold for the Best Office in the West Midlands voted by landlords and Gold for the Best Office in the West Midlands voted by tenants.

Director Jeremy Day added "We simply could not believe what we were experiencing on the night, no sooner had we sat down than we had to get up again to receive another. We won several awards in the 2018 ESTAS but to have been in business for only two years and win 10 accolades this time is testament to the priority we put on customer service in our business."

Steve attributes the company's success to a passion for delivering the best customer experience and a philosophy of truly helping people to make the process of buying, selling or renting a home as stress-free as possible. The focus on personal service by experienced staff is coupled with better property marketing through targeted use of social media and online technologies. This approach enables the Dourish & Day team to be as accessible as possible and keeps all stakeholders regularly updated and informed throughout the property journey.

Simon Brown, founder of the ESTAS, said: "At the ESTAS we're proud to say we believe in old fashioned values like customer service. We know how hard it is to deliver it and that's why we put the spotlight on property firms who are committed to providing excellent service. The ESTAS review and awards platform brand helps agents generate consumer trust."

The awards, which are celebrating their 16th year, determine the best estate and letting agents in the UK based purely on feedback from customers who answer a series of questions about the service they have received from their agent. More than 45,000 surveys were completed by customers via the ESTAS feedback platform.