A selection of our recent nominations...
Nominations are posted in the order received and are not otherwise prioritised.
Carol Ann Sheldon nominated Hank van Dongen of All Small Moves:
“I am nominating Hank van Dongen of All Small Moves because they helped me cope during a very traumatic time and restored my faith in humanity.
Due to an awful situation I had to move a week before Easter and to make matters worse I only had 2 days to find somewhere else to live.
I live alone and let's just say I am mature and work full time it was an absolutely nightmare situation. Most of the companies I rang wanted an address I was moving to which I didn't have.
All Small Moves told me I could book the truck and just let them know when I found somewhere to live. They were understanding and compassionate - as I was rather upset.
This was Wednesday night. I found a place on the Thursday and moved Friday. All Small Moves arrived on time were courteous, kind and very very considerate. They seemed to genuinely care about me as a human being.
The owner even managed to make me laugh. In fact it was almost enjoyable moving - it went so smoothly. Despite my very bad packing nothing was broken or damaged. Apart from the stereo which I dropped.
He even helped me to arrange the furniture. And the price was very reasonable and exactly what he quoted.
I wish all companies could copy their excellent customer service style - I felt very well treated and respected. Thank you so much."
Stu Reid nominated Tim Newman of TelstarClear:
"Tim Newman is the person who sourced and got distributed the BANDS FOR HOPE.
These bands have generated a lot of money for Christchurch. I would like to nominate Tim and his team for their effort.
Also TelstraClear went above and beyond the call of duty for their staff during and after the disaster."
Maureen Riesterer nominated Bryan and Rhonda Smith of Abundance Cafe:
"These two owned Next Best Cafe in Manchester and had a thriving business until the first earthquake struck on 4.9.10.Overnight their business was gone.Two incomes blown away.
Bryan went out and got casual work,within a week.Rhonda painted the house.
After allot of searching they found a new cafe and were due to sign the papers on the 22.2.11,and we know what happened next!
To top it off Rhonda was on her way to Christchurch Public hospital and didn't make it as her Mum died before she was able to get there. Her Mum died on the 22.2.11.
But these people never complained,never heard them say why me,and they still managed to retain their fantastic sense of humour.
Their new business is in a perfect location and it is so fantastic to see them doing so well.Good wholesome food,with the best blueberry muffins in town.
We need more people like this."
Charlotte Bennet nominated David Taylor of M. J .Robertson Plumbers:
"Our hot water cylinder was damaged in the February earthquake. The June earthquake then finished it off!
Having called EQC we were told it could be fixed as an emergency repair. I called MJ Robertson Plumbers and they came out, investigated the problem then organised for a replacement cylinder to be ordered.
The day we were due for them to fit the new cylinder was the day of the huge snow fall here in Christchurch.
People were being told not to go to work and we assumed we would have to wait longer for our emergency repairs.
BUT, the lovely plumber, David Taylor managed to get his truck out of the yard, along the snowy streets and made it to our property. The snow continued and the weather got colder but he was determined to get our hot water working again as we have two small boys.
EQC came yesterday and they commented on the great work the plumber had done. He had strapped the new cylinder and our header tank in the roof to stop any further damage should we have another good shake.
The whole team at MJ Robertsons have been great, from the plumbers to the administration staff. Thanks guys"
....and the grateful customer who nominated David Taylor of M J Robertson Plumbers is thrilled that he has won a Master Builders Business Hero Award:
From: C Bennet
Sent: Friday, January 20, 2012 12:34 PM
To: Business Hero Awards
Subject: Re: MJ Robertson Award Nomination
Thanks Angie!
I am really thrilled for him and a thanks to you for organising the awards. Too many times we are quick to complain when things aren't going right so it was great to have you there to let people know about all the good things that are happening!
Kind regards
Charlotte Bennett
Christine Cockle nominated Kevin Wang of Edgeware Fruit & Vegetables:
"Ours is not a wealthy area with many not owning a car so it was a great shock when five of our shops were closed abruptly in March having previously been deemed safe. None more so than the businesspeople themselves who were only told the night before.
Defying all odds, Kevin Wang has continued supplying fresh produce to his local Edgeware customers. Throughout winter, in the bitterest weather, he and his assistant May have turned up daily to sell from beneath the makeshift awning they've erected in the car park in front of his damaged shop.
Everyday the shop must be set up from scratch, the awning and counter erected, the truck unloaded, a cord run from Peter Timbs Butchery next door to power the register then at 5 pm it all gets packed up again. Rain, hail or shine.
This has helped make our lives that much easier especially for the elderly and young families who would otherwise need transport to buy their fresh fruit and veg. It's nice too to shop with your neighbours.
Neither Kevin nor May has English as their first language which must bring its own difficulties. However, they have both remained cheerful and committed in very straitened circumstances and I salute them for it. Kevin's sheer bloody determination to continue serving his customers no matter what is inspiring.
First estimates reckoned the shops would be repaired and reopened within three months. Seven months later they are still without a roof and show no sign of opening anytime soon. The race is on for Kevin though, with the warmer weather on the way and no refrigeration, summer is set to provide even more challenges."
Patrick Smellie nominated Max Bowden of Main Report Publications:
"As the publisher of some five or six weekly business intelligence newsletters, including the political insider's bible, Trans Tasman, Max Bowden had to keep producing after Sept 4 and then Feb 22. After the first big shake, the office building he had space in cracked down the middle and his whole operation moved to the safer, sunnier half. Feb 22 did for the whole property and Max, a man in his 60's, had to mount an unauthorised raid of hhis condemned premises. He was caught by a crew of Australian firefighters, who gave him 10 minutes to grab what he could.
Meanwhile, his printer, Caxton Press, was out of action. In all that time, no edition of the Main Report Publications has failed to appear, although one or two were a day or two late - even the last time was thanks to snow.
The business is still running from Max's front room.
Meanwhile he has continued to invest in his publications, and used the fact of the earthquakes to move decisively online, using local Christchurch web consultants.
Maybe a fairly typical story, but as one of several Wellington-based contributors, we're all aware of the huge job Max and his team in Chritchurch h ave pulled off."
Sandra Donohue nominated Moira Evans of Hardings Jewellers:
“During February this year (2011), I had an inexpensive ring in for repair at Harding’s Jewellers in central Christchurch. Then the devastating earthquake hit on the 22nd of February. As the Harding’s business was right in the middle of the devastation I thought that I would never see my ring again.
While of no financial value, the ring has special meaning to me. Some years ago we were burgled and nearly all of the items relating to my teenage years were stolen. But I found the ring amongst my youngest daughter's playthings about to be removed from the property, wrapped in my daughter's duvet. Fortunately the burglars were disturbed and the duvet and contents stayed on the bed (including the ring).
Then when it needed repair I took it to Hardings and then the February earthquake struck and I thought it would be lost. Then, to my great delight, I received a phone message from Moira Evans at Harding's Jewellers to say she had (despite the devastation and their need to relocate) found my precious ring and it would be delivered to me (at no extra charge I might add!).
What a lovely gesture. I now once again have my ring and it is more precious to me now than ever. While I don’t know her personally this is not the first time Moira has gone out of her way to give me great service and I can't say enough about the service I always receive from this business.
This really did make my day. Let's face it, some days are very hard to face right now in Christchurch. Thank you for this chance to make good Moira’s thoughtfulness and that of Harding's Jewellers.”
Phillipa lane nominated the team at Enviro Master:
"I expected to wait quite some time for installation of a heat pump, considering the high demand in ChCh after the earthquake. However, I was given a date only 3 weeks out from a very prompt, informative and friendly quoting service.
The deposit was paid a few days later, and then only the next day I was offered the installation two days later again. That was great, but I was not able to be home at the required time. Very quickly a new arrangement was made, requiring one of the installers to be at my home by 8am instead of the usual 9am, and I was not made to feel that this was anything out of the ordinary, just no problem.
In fact, when the phone message was left for me, confirming the new arrangement, the office person even left me her home number in case I could not phone back before she left the office.On the installation morning I came back a little late and passed the installers as they drove away.
quick wave out my car window, and they stopped and very cheerfully, no bother, came back to demonstrate the use of the pump. While at my house this installer also very willingly did a small job for me that I was unable to do. Fantastic service!"
Ray and Maree Goldring nominated Mark Jeffery of MJ Contracting:
"We live in the mountains at Castle Hill Village within the Selwyn District.
Mark first came to our attention here in the Village when he was replacing a neighbour’s windows with double-glazing. Because he was doing such a good job – we asked him to replace our windows as well.
Because our aluminium window frames were of an older type, it was difficult to get all the new window flashings to fit the old frames. One did not work well so Mark altered one to suit. A couple of weeks after the job was finished, a section of the new flashing fell out. Because he was unsatisfied by the uncompleted job, at no cost to us, he travelled the 100 + kms back here to install a better-fitting flashing.
Months after this job was done, we decided to build a conservatory on the northern deck of our house at Castle Hill. Mark came up to measure it up and give us a quote for the job. He returned to Christchurch and instigated the process of obtaining the permit and getting the manufacturer to produce the product which Mark would assemble and install on site.
During this interim period, Mark told us he was going to Australia to work as his wife had a new job over there. Mark said, because he had instigated the job for us and committed to doing it, that he would return to do the job for us.
We had a deadline for the job to be finished – the 20th August – as this was our 40th wedding celebration, and we needed the extra conservatory space for the extended family during their stay. The permit took an interminable amount of time to arrive and we were panicking to get it done in time.
We had an email from Mark to say he was arriving from Aussie to start the job on Saturday 13th August – to be finished before the 20th!
He and his team of two started the job on the 13th. They knew the big storm was on its way so they worked into the night under flood-lights to get as much done as possible before it arrived in force. That night the snow started. Sunday morning dawned with a layer of snow everywhere and cold temperatures. During Sunday the temperatures got colder and the winds got higher. The job was still not finished.
The next day, Monday, the snow was thicker, the temperatures colder and the winds were nearing blizzard force. Mark wanted to finish the job so worked in the blizzard conditions to get the job completed. His drop-saw benches were set up under the open-ended carport at the southern end of the house while the conservatory was being constructed at the northern end of the house. Mark had to take the measurements at the northern end, take the aluminium pieces to the southern end to be cut, and then trundle through the deepening snow back to the northern end to install the pieces in place. If they did not fit he had to repeat the process until it did.
All the time this was going on the winds were howling around the house. Snow was drifting all over the place, the temperatures were below zero and the wind-chill was mind-numbingly cold. Mark was covered in drifting snow, his feet and hands were freezing - yet throughout this time, the work done and the accuracy of the work being done was exemplary.
Some tradesmen will stop working at the hint of rain. But Mark insisted the job had to be finished and worked in horrendous conditions to do so.
As a result of his beyond-the-call-of duty service and for the accuracy and quality of the finished product we think Mark (and his team) deserves being nominated. I have photos and a video of Mark working under the extreme conditions experienced during the “worst winter storm for 40 years”.
As a result of the amount of snow that had fallen during the storm, Mark and his team were trapped with us for two further nights as the roads were closed. We managed to get his van out over the Porters pass even though the road was marginal and officially closed.
I am an outdoor safety consultant and auditor. I am an ex Officer in Charge of the Craigieburn Forest Park. Maree is an ex primary school principal. She is the current chairperson of the Castle Hill Village Community Association".
Martin Richards nominated Robyn Robinson of Urban Rooms:
"Owner of home-share business in Christchurch, prob about 12 properties in the city centre.
Always went out of her way to provide for us and deserving of an award in itself even before the 22nd Feb Earthquake after which Robyn and her husband did literally everything they could for us even though the business was most likely finished.
They came out to us on the day of the quake and every day afterwards to bring us clean water, bbq gas and anything else that we needed and did not ask for a penny. "
