Damas wins Dubai service excellence award

The Dubai Service Excellence Scheme (Dses) of the Dubai Department of Economic Development (DED) named Damas "Best Service Performance Brand" under "Special Business Category" for 2007-2008.

The leading jewellery retailer was honoured along with other winners at a special ceremony held under the patronage of Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, at Jumeirah Beach Hotel.

Sheikh Saeed bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum and Khalid Ibrahim Al Kassim, Deputy Director-General for Planning & Development, presented the award to Tamjid Abdullah, Deputy Managing Director of Damas.

Tamjid Abdullah said: "We will continue to pursue excellence in jewellery retail, and we salute Dses for recognising, supporting and encouraging enterprises that make positive contributions towards a more vibrant trade environment and better service to consumers.

"The success of Damas over the past 100 years has been the outcome of our continuing efforts to provide premium quality products and personalised service to our clientele. Recognition such as this inspires us to introduce more innovations in order to meet the growing needs of our public."

Khalid Al Kassim, Deputy Director-General for Planning and Development of DED, said: "The Dses certification primarily targets Dubai-based businesses that have a high interface with customers and has been initiated with the specific intent of facilitating growth in the tourism, trade, finance and service sectors. The scheme aims to promote businesses that strive to increase the standards in customer service and boost customer confidence through ethical and best practices."

Dses binds all participating businesses to a common code of business ethics and core criteria for customer service excellence in 15 retail categories. The winners were selected out of more than 1,000 participants on the basis of mystery shopper input.

Damas scored the highest among all other retailers in the "Special Business Category", which covers establishments having more than 20 outlets. As a welcome bonus, Damas shops in Jumeirah Town Centre and Lulu Centre – Ajman were proclaimed "Best Service Performance Outlets for Jewellery". Damas was the only participant winning multiple awards in its category.

Damas has grown from a UAE-based company established in 1907 into a global fashion and jewellery network spanning the United Kingdom, Italy, Libya, Turkey, Egypt, Sudan, Jordan, Maldives, India, Lebanon and throughout the GCC countries with more than 386 sales points worldwide.

It currently houses internationally acclaimed jewellery and watch brands such as Tiffany & Co, Mikimoto, Daniel K, Gucci, Faberge, Carrera y Carrera, Paspaley, Pasquale Bruni, Roberto Coin, Fope, Chronoswiss, Parmigiani, Perrelet, Quinting, Montega, Frederique Constant, among others.

Other prestigious awards won by Damas include the exclusive De Beers Award in 2000 and 2004 for jewellery design. The DSES has been designed to gain customer confidence and transform the experience of buying in Dubai into a pleasurable one. This scheme is aimed at all businesses, especially those from the service sector where customer service is the differentiating factor among competitors.