November saw us bring award success home, with Willesden Junction driver Mirela Mandzhukova at the heart of that success. She is one of Willesden Junction’s most outstanding drivers, known to her colleagues as a pleasant and calm person, who is always smiling. At the RouteOne Awards, hosted in Birmingham on 13th November, Mirela was Highly Commended by the judges for providing an Outstanding Customer Experience. There was further success at the UK Bus Awards on 26th Novmeber, where Mirela received the Silver Award for the Luke Rees-Pulley Award for Top London Bus Driver.
Joining Metroline in 2018, Mirela wanted to find a job that combined her two favourite things; driving and working with passengers. It also helps coming from a family of drivers, with both her parents being professional drivers, Mirela jokes that “maybe it’s in my blood”.
Being recognised for excellent Customer Experience comes as no surprise, as Mirela describes the most enjoyable part of being a bus driver as the ability to help people: “I enjoy meeting many different people, understanding them and helping the customers in need. Sometimes you get passengers who are lost and don’t know how to get from point A to point B, and it really makes me happy to help them.” No wonder she has an abundance of commendations from passengers wanting to relay their feedback: “A thank you to the bus driver – she welcomed and smiled at every single passenger getting on the bus! A lovely start to the morning,” said one customer. The most surprising commendation however, came from the manager of another London bus operator who contacted his counterparts at Metroline to praise Mirela’s exemplary customer service, exclaiming “My word gents…where did you recruit this driver from?” The manager praised her friendly and approachable attitude, noting how she “welcomes everyone on board with a huge smile and a good morning. I even got asked how I was.” He also complimented her driving style and added, “I can’t speak highly enough of your driver. What an asset.”
Aside from the challenges of driving in an increasingly congested London, facing the public on a daily basis can also be demanding. Mirela’s advice for how to maintain good customer service even when the public is tricky is to always smile first: “My eyes can kill you” she jests, “but a smile is always on my face.”
Being Mirela’s first awards ceremony, she had no idea what to expect: “Actually, it was my first ever time visiting that kind of award ceremony. It was such a nice experience, I was so excited, everything was new to me.” Speaking on both her wins, Mirela exclaims “I feel very proud of myself.”
Mirela thanks her managers and supervisors for supporting and trusting her “I would especially like to thank my manager Alina Gioroc for acknowledging my effort, and all other valuable staff members, who provided unconditional support to me, and showed so much trust and faith in me.”
Also nominated at the UK Bus Awards was Uxbridge Garage, which received the Bronze Award for London Bus Garage of the Year, after continuing to perform strongly in the face of challenging operational conditions.
Speaking about the garage, Garage Manager Stavros Heracleous said, “Our engineers, controllers, drivers, cleaners and office colleagues understand that the customer and the wider community are at the heart of everything we do… Together we are a strong and pro-active team. For us, there is no ‘us and them’, it is all about the customer and the community we serve.”
