M.A.D Winners

Congratulations to all our M.A.D winners for their outstanding service and going over and above their normal duties!
2025 Winners
February – Gemma Quainton
Gemma has been nominated for a MAD Award for her quick thinking and compassion when assisting an elderly gentleman who had slipped on the ice near the centre. She helped manage the situation calmly, directing traffic, arranging a wheelchair, and bringing him into the café to keep warm while waiting for help. Her actions demonstrated genuine care and likely contributed to his recovery—an excellent example of going above and beyond for the community.
January – Lesley-Anne Reynolds
Leslie has been nominated for a MAD Award for her dedication, hard work, and outstanding customer service. Despite challenging weather conditions, she went above and beyond to assist a customer with selecting plants for a large project, taking the time to offer expert advice and support throughout the visit. Her commitment, even at the expense of her own break, resulted in a significant sale and a very satisfied customer—an excellent example of the positive impact of great service.

2024 Winners
December – Michael Brown & Rita Debono (Crawley)
Mike and Rita have been nominated for a MAD Award for their kindness and patience when assisting a school group during their visit. Their calm and compassionate approach made a real difference, ensuring the children had a positive and enjoyable experience. Their support was greatly appreciated and reflected the welcoming and caring atmosphere of the centre.

November – Liliya Sixsmith (Wokingham)
Liliya has been nominated for a MAD Award for her dedication and willingness to go above and beyond to support her team. When the kitchen was left short-staffed during a particularly busy period, she selflessly gave up her time off to ensure the Café Bar continued to run smoothly. Thanks to her commitment, the team was able to meet customer demand and deliver excellent service.

October – Richard Boxall, Plant Area Manager (Stanmore)
Richard was nominated for his award for stepping up and running the centre in the absence of both the Manager and Assistant Manager. Despite low staffing levels, and a restaurant refit, Richard remained positive throughout.

September – James Lucas, Tills Assistant & Ben Whitton, Delivery Driver
James and Ben received their nomination, from a very happy customer, who felt the pair had gone above and beyond when they delivered to the customer had a broken wrist.

August – Iffy Ullah, Garden Furniture Head (Crawley)
Iffy was nominated for his award by a customer for assisting with her elderly mother who had an accident in the centre. Iffy showed such care and concern to the customer, and couldn’t have done anymore to help.

July – Christian Tiley, Euan Terry and Agnieszka Moczulska (Restaurant team at Frensham)
The team received their nomination for the way they handled a difficult situation, keeping calm, polite and diffusing the tension.

June – Jean Cox, Front of House (Badshot Lea)
Jean received her nomination for her hard work when a another member of staff was taken ill. Because of this, Jean was left alone managing the cafe area and she did an exceptional job! People were coming and going and there was a lot to do but she remained professional and polite throughout clearly doing her very best.

May – Daniel Collins, Front of House (Chertsey)
Daniel was nominated for a MAD award after a customer had written into the centre praising him for his service. Here’s what they had to say:
“I just wanted to let you know how wonderful our waiter Dan was in taking care of us at lunchtime today. We were a party of ladies “of a certain age” and one of our group has a severe disability, so we took a very long time ordering, sorting out the menu and then making payment for our meals and drinks. Dan was absolutely exceptional in his manner and his patience in dealing with us all. He was polite and courteous the whole time and had the patience of a Saint! I know how busy you are and how stretched you are with insufficient staff, but Dan was absolutely wonderful – a credit to Squires!”

April – Tsenko Pazvanski, Chef (Milford)
Tsenko, who has been with Squire’s for over 7 years, progressing from Kitchen Porter to Chef, was in the kitchen when the frying pan caught fire. In the moment he was calm and did everything that he been trained to do to put the fire out without causing damage or setting off the sprinklers (which could cause us to close the kitchen for a couple days). His attitude and professionalism when under pressure has earnt him this award.

March – Christine Foley & Tina Dyer Plants Sales Assistants (Stanmore)
Christine and Tina received their award for stepping up when both the centres Plant Area Manager and Assistant Manager were away from the business. During this time there were various large deliveries to get ready for thee spring set-up. The two ladies coped fantastically well on their own, perfectly setting up the plant department ready for the peak season with minimum guidance.

March – Amy Middlehurst, Gift Department Head (Shepperton)
Abby was nominated because, of her quick actions when an elderly customer was taken ill in the centre. Abby had been one of the first aiders at the scene and had managed to keep the family and situation calm. She had phoned for an ambulance and had very clearly relayed all information from the patient, as well as the in-depth questions from the paramedic on the phone, to determine the best course of care needed. Abby had then stayed with the family, keeping them informed and in comfort while they waited for the ambulance to arrive. Her exemplary handling of the situation demonstrated outstanding first aid care and professionalism.

February – Pets & Aquatics Team (Washington)
The Pets and Aquatic team at Squire’s Washington had recently gone above and beyond, helping a customer who made numerous visits to the aquatic centre at with their son who was setting up an aquarium for an axolotl. The team were very helpful and and able to share their extensive knowledge with the customer.

January – Helen Thomas, Plants Sales Assistant (Crawley)
A customer had recently written in to thank Helen who helped them and their anxiety during their visit to Squire’s.
This was the customers first visit to Squires by themselves since 2019. So Helen’s warm, calming influence was exactly what the customer in that moment.

January – Emma Large, Restaurant Manager &
Trudy O’Connell, Front of House (Frensham)
There was an incident in the Frensham Café Bar where one of their regular customers stopped breathing during breakfast service. Trudy and Emma were called to assist and immediately placed the lady into the recovery position. Thankfully, this cleared the airway, and she started breathing again. An ambulance was called and she was taken to hospital where she is recovering well. Her daughter phoned today to thank Trudy and Emma and said without their quick reactions her mum would not be here today.

Made A Difference (MAD)
M.A.D is a reward scheme for our staff who make a difference to our business through;
- Outstanding customer service
- Over and above normal duties
- Initiatives that have grown/inspired the business
There is an overall winner each month chosen by a team of five garden centre managers and annually those twelve winners will be judged for the company ‘team member of the year’
Each month the winner can choose one of the following;
- £75 to chosen charity
- £75 Squire’s Gift Card
- £50 Amazon Gift Card
Annual winners will receive a prize to the value of £250