Staff at Eircom who "go over and above the call of duty in providing excellent customer service" are to be rewarded by being treated to lunch with chairman Pierre Danon and senior members of the management team.

Every six weeks, 10 staff from across the company, which is now owned by Australia's Babcock & Brown, will be invited to attend a "certificate and awards presentation" followed by lunch from a "top catering company", a note sent to staff explained.

Those nominated will be known as customer service champions and will receive a €250 gift voucher. Mr Danon recently broke bread with the first 10 "champions".

Eircom is regularly criticised by customers and consumer groups over its level and quality of service

A spokesman for Eircom said this was an initiative from Mr Danon to make customer service a "top priority" within the company. Every staff member is eligible but must be nominated by a colleague with a reason given as to why they should rewarded.

"There is only one criterion - that they have consistently put the customer at the heart of their job, whether that be the restoration of service after a storm, taking ownership of customer issues or changing processes to ensure the customer has a more pleasurable customer experience."

The note said that exceeding customer expectations would help the company "retain and increase market share and drive revenue and profitability".