Service with a smile has helped the Esso service station at Port Royal win a Caribbean regional award for excellence in customer service and retail sales.

And this Saturday the business will thank the public for their support with a customer appreciation day.

The Port Royal Service Station consistently won quarterly awards during 2015 and into 2016, including the Gold II Sol Excellence Award.

It was that level of performance that secured the service station the Gold Retailer of the Year title for the Western Caribbean region, which Bermuda comes into for the purposes of the Sol Blue Carpet Awards.

Tamara De Silva, the service station dealer who has worked there for 22 years, paid tribute to the dedication and hard work of staff who, she said, had made the award possible.

Jane Smith, the service station manager, who has been at the Port Royal location for 17 years, said: “We really do have a great team here and we must thank the community who patronise our store.”

Sol Group, which is headquartered in Barbados, operates Bermuda’s Esso gas stations through Sol Petroleum Bermuda Limited.

Jonathan Brewin, country manager of Sol Petroleum Bermuda, said: “The Port Royal team, led by Tamara De Silva and Jane Smith, serve as a great example to all service stations.

“They demonstrate exactly how far you can go and what can be achieved when you offer top notch service with a smile. The ever-committed leadership who are always on site have worked very hard to make the station not only a success in business but also a success in the local community. They always go above and beyond when it comes to their customers.”

Meanwhile, Larry Lamb, general manager of the Pompano Beach Club, which is nearby, said: “The owners and staff are a delight and a pleasure to work with and the station is a great asset to the Port Royal neighbourhood.”

This Saturday, the service station is holding a customer appreciation day between 2pm and 6pm. The event is open to the public and there will be free giveaways and free entry into a raffle for ten $50 gift certificates for fuel and other prizes.