THE NOSS BOAT
Winner Of
‘Service Excellence’ Award 2024 in Scotland
by the FSB – Federation Of Small Business
We are delighted to add another award to our growing list of accolades, we are going to need a bigger cabinet. Towards the end of February we received the news that we had been named winners of the ‘Service Excellence’ 2024 for Scotland by the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) Scotland.
As stated by FSB “This award is in recognition of Seabirds-and-Seals ongoing commitment to going above and beyond, plus their fantastic dedication in putting their customers first – very well deserved”.
We are delighted also to hear that as winners for Scotland wide, we now to forward to the UK finals, to be held on 9th May at Blackpool’s Winter Gardens.
Upon taking the business over seven years ago, we focused very much on making the business as accessible & inclusive as possible.
A qualified senior level social care worker, Marie is very much committed to inclusion and that tours should be for everyone.
Amongst many other things, we have invested in making our boat wheelchair accessible by adding a flat, obstruction-free boarding platform to accommodate all levels and abilities, and we have also given their crew additional training. Our team is made up of enthusiasts passionate about local wildlife, geology, history and heritage, we love sharing it all with our customers, ensuring they leave Shetland happy, relaxed and committed to returning.
We believe that having improved accessibility appeals to a wide range of visitors and we want to make our customers tour a ‘holiday highlight’ by making it accessible and enjoyable throughout. By listening to our customers and having more awareness about the inclusive tourism market, we have worked hard and implemented changes to make our tours open and enjoyable for all. It’s not only about being ‘wheelchair accessible’ – we have implemented many other changes which you can view by clicking on the link below. We believe all that we offers makes us accessible & inclusive for all as we respect ‘inclusion for all’.
This recent accolade is not the only award we have won in recognition of our very high standard of customer care and inclusiveness. In 2023 we had a double win at the Highlands and Islands Thistle Awards for ‘Inclusive Tourism’ and ‘Best Visitor Attraction’. We are both absolutely delighted to be recognised by both FSB and HITA in this way as well as our other fabulous accolades to make us Shetland’s NO.1 boat tour/wildlife experience.
FSB Highlands & Islands development manager David Richardson said: “I met Brian and Marie in Lerwick in November and was instantly drawn to their warm and welcoming natures and their passion for their business.
“I’m absolutely delighted – but not surprised – to see them win our service excellence award.”
Thank you to our many customers – both local and visitors alike, local community, our various partnership networks, social media followers, family and friends for making us a top Shetland visitor attraction and for all your continued support.
We are looking forward to our 2024 season and shaping up to be a very busy one – thanks again.
Marie, Brian & From All The Noss Boat Team.