Butters John Bee is going for gold again – as well as silver and bronze – in the industry’s most prestigious property awards: the ESTAS.

Perceived within the industry as being the equivalent to the Oscars, the awards recognise the best agents based on research conducted through homebuyers, sellers and landlords around the UK.

They measure the quality of customer service provided by agents through the home buying, selling and rental process.

Butters John Bee has been shortlisted in several ESTAS categories for 2015 and is hoping to better the success achieved last year, when the firm walked away with three top prizes.

As well as being shortlisted for the overall best estate agency group, 12 Butters John Bee branches have been shortlisted for best branch awards.

Six of them are in the north west category: Northwich, Winsford, Alsager, Crewe, Nantwich and Sandbach.

A further six branches have been nominated in the west Midlands category.

The winners will be announced this Friday, April 17.

Residential director Steve Dourish says that being shortlisted for such prestigious awards is tribute to the hard work and skill of the staff and reflects the level of customer care they deliver.

“Being shortlisted for so many awards demonstrates that existing customers are delighted with the service they receive from Butters John Bee, and this gives anyone thinking of buying or selling a property confidence in our company,” he said.

“The ESTAS are hugely important to us as a business, as it is the feedback from the most important people involved in buying or selling who vote, and those people are our customers.

“They are asked to comment on the various aspects of the service received from the Butters John Bee branch that they dealt with, together with giving a score on their overall experience, the marketing of the property, how we handled the sale and if they felt that we offered value for money.

“The way in which they rate us then determines the final score for that branch, which then results in the highest scoring estate agency branches being shortlisted for an award in that region.

“I am delighted that we have so many customers who had a very positive experience of using Butters John Bee.”

TV property expert Phil Spencer says: “I think it says a great deal about a company that is prepared to stand up and announce to customers and competitors that they believe in providing the best possible service and they’re happy to prove it.

“These awards help agencies to focus on customer service levels, and that’s why so many sign up each year.

“Taking part in the ESTAS sets agents apart from their competitors. It sends a clear message that they are passionate about customer service, prepared to go that extra mile for their clients and keen to listen to feedback.”

Butters John Bee entered the ESTAS for the first time last year, winning a bronze, silver and gold award.

This followed on from winning a silver The Times/Sunday Times award for the best medium sized agency in the Midlands, together with a gold The Times/Sunday Times award for being the best auction estate agent in the UK.

The Times/Sunday Times awards are very different, as they are based purely on industry experts who scrutinise the business compared to other estate agency operations.