Issue link: https://viewer.e-digitaledition.com/i/1171994
The Gold Medal Service Awards issue is one of my very favorites. It follows the Gold Medal Service Award ceremony itself, which is part of it: Spending a morning celebrating the stores who make customer service look easy is an enormous pleasure. But it's the work that comes after the event that's even more gratifying. Talking with all the winners — like our cover stars Alan and Annette Miklofsky, owners of Alan's Shoes, this year's highest-scoring shop — is always a fascinating exploration of the different approaches, mind-sets and playbooks that shop owners bring to their local businesses. You can see the results of those conversations in our Gold Medal Service Award section — including the list of winners and their scores — which kicks off on page 30. We spotlight our five (yes, five!) perfect-scoring stores. And we get the scoop from our repeat winners on how they keep service levels high. You'll also find photos from our awards breakfast in Vegas, more details about the awards themselves and, crucially, how you can be considered for next year's awards. I hope you'll learn as much as I did from the class of 2019 about the ways they're driving consistency, encouraging growth and truly serving their communities. But if you're as customer-service obsessed as we know you are, don't stop there. We made service the theme for the whole issue. Check out our exclusive Trend Insight survey on page 54, where shoppers share their unvarnished truths about what drives them to buy and what kinds of service matters to them. And don't miss this issue's Crowd Source article, where we polled the smartest shops around to find out how they're attracting the top service talents in the most competitive market in ages — and how they're keeping those service all-stars around We're so honored to celebrate the footwear independent channel and the work you do, and we're knocked flat every day by your creativity, your acumen and your passion. Congratulations to all our winners — and to anyone not on this year's list, we're hoping to see you next year. Service with a Smile TIME OUT | JENNIFER ERNST BEAUDRY 6 • Footwear Insight ~ September/October 2019 footwearinsight.com