After spending 30 years in a job, many people would be cynical and jaded, but not Alison Buckley

The accuracy checking technician has been with Boots for over three decades, albeit in different branches all around the country, but she still finds ways to make a difference every day. 

One such example came in the form of a 20-year-old drug user who had recently been made homeless and came into the chain’s Plymouth branch in a bad way. Alison’s heart immediately went out to him so she replaced his wet and unusable sleeping bag and now makes him a packed lunch everyday – no extra effort and an obvious thing to do when she makes them for her children anyway, she says. “We see these drug users every day in their struggles, more than their GP or key worker. It really doesn’t cost a lot to help someone out and can make a big difference.”

Alison’s highly commended in the Customer Care category was a no-brainer for the judges, with pharmacy technician Tess Fenn heralding her “empathy, humility and customer service skills that go above and beyond in reaching out to the most vulnerable without prejudice” and concluding that Alison is “a truly exceptional star”.