Footwear Insight

4 • Footwear Insight ~ November/December 2021 footwearinsight.com FROM THE PUBLISHER Great customer service… it's one thing within our control. I've said it before, and it's worth repeating. We believe in the foundation and success of independent specialty brick- and-mortar stores. There is something called the in- store experience. The curated assortment and the touching and feeling of products. The sit- and fit-process. The consultative and attentive retail sales associate. At the end of the day, it's all about the customer service experience. It's what truly elevates independent retailers above the rest. We established the Gold Medal Service Awards in 2015 to recognize and celebrate the best sit-and-fit stores in the country each year. at said, there was no playbook to follow to help navigate the challenges that we've faced over the past 20 months. As retailers were dealing with the pandemic's constantly changing dynamics, followed by new rules and regulations, mask mandates, limited store capacity, newly conceived curbside pickup, reduced store hours and reduced staff (just to name a few), we chose not to mystery shop stores in 2020 for the Gold Medal Service Awards. Instead, we took that opportunity to talk to independent retailers across the country about the challenges they faced, and the customer service strategies they implemented. We published their stories in our "Retail Resilience" feature last December. e inspirational stories about the many obstacles — and the hoops that some of our past Gold Medal Service Award winners had to jump through — to maintain a level of service that their customers expected, were simply amazing. eir top priority in 2020 was making their customers feel safe. From mandatory shutdowns to appointment-only shopping, to masking up, temperature checks, cubicles, sanitizers, the whole bit. Soon to be followed by walk-ins (only six at a time please), tents to shield customers from the weather, and the added storefront doorbell. Footwear retailers knew they had to find a way to provide customer assistance that oen brought them closer than six feet. It's what they do. Alternatively, there was also curbside pick-up or ship to customer's homes. Why? It was the "new" customer service expectation that at times seemed to require customized service showered on anyone that walked into the door that day. Add to all of that, the one item that truly tested almost everyone's patience… the occasional difficult customer interaction about requiring a facemask. Again, something that was not in anyone's playbook. Although these safety concerns gradually started to subside in 2021, retailers faced new obstacles including supply chain disruptions, wildfires on the west coast and hurricanes in the south. PPP forgiveness? Check. As a result, while more consumers have been venturing back into the stores, they are met with a shortage of products and oen a shortage of retail sales associates. is perfect storm was brewing just in time for our 2021 Gold Medal Service Awards secret shop, which took place in October. Here's what we found. is year, there were more retailers that scored at the higher end of the spectrum (90+ points). We have 16 new Gold Medal retailers in 2021 that had never been on our winner's list before. We also added a bonus criteria item — one focused on the consumer's safety experience and how a sales associate dely handled an out-of stock item. Our Gold Medal Service Award winners continue to be the masters of delivering outstanding customer service. Check out the 2021 Gold Medal Service Award coverage in this issue starting on page 22. You'll see the full list of award winners, along with a profile of the year's top- scoring store. Plus, we have an array of outstanding customer service insights and tips shared by some of this year's winning retailers. And a shout out if I may, and a tremendous thank you to Alegria, Feetures, Geox, OS1st and Propet, our 2021 Gold Medal Service Award brand sponsors, who believe as we do, in the continued success of brick-and-mortar independent retailers. Finally, we applaud all of the independent footwear retailers both on our list as well as all those who continue to strive to offer the best customer service experience during these most challenging times...one customer at a time. We wish you the best of health and continued success for the upcoming holiday season. If you would like to nominate a store for next year's secret shop, please email me at jnott@formula4media.com. Jeff Nott, Publisher This year, there were more retailers that scored at the higher end of the spectrum ( 90+ points)

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