Pics by Vivek Sequiera - Vivek Studio, Mangaluru
Daijiworld Media Network - Melbourne
Melbourne, Nov 1: It is an established fact that when you render service with dedication and humility, recognition comes your way without seeking. NRE entrepreneur Ronald Colaco, who is known for his exemplary philanthropy irrespective of religion and community, is a fitting example of this. He has been honoured for his humanitarian and social service, besides committment to excellence, by an institution of the Australian government.
On October 28, Colaco received two awards from the Customer Service Institute of Australia (CSIA), the premier institute of the Australian government, endorsed by the Prime Minister of Australia, in a gala ceremony held at Crown Casino, Palladium Ballroom in Victoria, Melbourne.
The Australian Service Excellence Awards are Australia's most rigorous multi-industry awards programme, which showcase the highest achievement in customer service excellence.
In the ceremony that had the presence of more than 500 delegates representing many countries across the globe, Ronald Colaco received two awards - Individual Recognition for Best (humanitarian and social) Service Excellence International Award and International Service Excellence Award, Customer Charter for Clarks Exotica Resort & Spa, Swiss Town. Clarks Exotica was chosen for its high standards of management, training and committment to excellence.
Colaco was the only person from outside Australia to receive the individual award during the ceremony. All other individual awards were given to persons from either local, state or federal government of Australia.
During his address to the gathering on behalf of all the awardees, Colaco was asked a question by the host, as to what prompted him to engage in charitable and educational work. Colaco said that he had made an agreement with his wife by taking oath before god just before the exchange of their wedding vows, that certain percentage of his income would go for the cause of the poor, and some percentage for social causes. "We have only one opportunity to live in this world, there is no second chance for you and me to come back again, therefore, whatever little service we can render individually to the least fortunate brethren of our society, which you and I come from, we can do now or never. So therefore I followed the fundamental idea that instead of wanting to add years to our life, we should prefer to add more meaningful and purposeful life to each year we live," he said.
It is learnt that after noticing the charitable and philanthropic work of Colaco through online sources, CSIA deputed two officials from Australia under the leadership of Ricky Tyler of International Council of Customer Service Organizations (ICCSO) for further interview of Ronald Colaco in Bengaluru in August this year, following which Colaco was chosen internationally for the coveted individual award by the Australian government for his long-term social, charitable and humanitarian works as an individual.
M Balaji, CEO, Clarks Exotica Resort & Spa, accompanied Colaco to the stage to receive the International Service Excellence Award for the hotel.
Apart from Balaji, Lawrence Paul, an NRI entrepreneur from Dubai, Vivek Sequeira, international award-winning photographer from Mangaluru, Amanda Pinto, Tushar Bhatnagar and Vijay Rebello, all residing in Melbourne, were present at the gala ceremony.
Besides Clarks Exotica Resort & Spa, three other Indian entities that were awarded during the ceremony were ICICI Bank in the banking sector, Apollo in the hospital sector and Snapdeal in the e-commerce sector.
Clarks Exotica Resort Hotel is fully owned by Ronald Colaco and operated by Clarks Group of Hotels under the stewardship of Vivek Kumar. Nigel Colaco, son of Ronald Colaco, is the project director of the hotel. The hotel, located in Swiss Town, Bengaluru, amidst lush foliage, is known for its state-of-the-art facilities that include a variety of sports, recreational, spa and banqueting facilities.
With this Australian award, Clarks Exotica has received a total of 8 international and 4 national awards for its provision of abundant non-income earning areas towards sports and recreational facilities for enhanced customer satisfaction, besides excellence in customer services.
On October 18, Clarks Exotica received the prestigious WORLDCOB Bizz Award in a ceremony held in Muscat. In the same event, Ronald Colaco was conferred the World Leader Businessperson Award in recognition of his splendid achievements. In 2013, Clarks Exotica won the 'European Award for Best Practices 2013', instituted by the European Society for Quality Research (ESQR), followed by International Quality Summit Gold Category Award from BID Spain in New York the same year. Between 2013 and 2014, it won six major international awards, and early this year, it won the 'International Hotel Award' which was presented in London.
Colaco dedicated this award to MD of Clarks group of five star hotels, Vivek Kumar, CEO Balaji, along with the heads of the departments and the entire team. "It is because of their efficient management that awards are pouring on Clark Exotica," Colaco said.
Some of the recent awards: