Issue link: https://viewer.e-digitaledition.com/i/1486062
footwearinsight.com November/December 2022 ~ Footwear Insight • 27 THE GOLD MEDAL SERVICE AWARDS 2022 GOOD AS GOLD Customer service is at the heart of what makes independent footwear stores special. e best stores not only know how important customer service is, they also know how to deliver it. At Footwear Insight, we've been honoring the best of the best independent retailers with the Gold Medal Service Award for Outstanding Customer Service annually since 2015. is year, 80 stores have earned a spot on our Gold Medal list. All of these stores not only deliver outstanding service to the shoppers who visit their stores, they are also adept at problem solving, performing under pressure and adjusting to an ever-changing marketplace. Some of these stores are big, some are small. Some have embraced the internet, while others are more old-school. ey are all outstanding in their own ways. The 2022 Gold Medal Service Award winning retailers each have their own "secrets to success," and on the following pages, we share some of their "Good as Gold" insight. Congratulations to all of the honorees. is year, the top scoring store on the list is Beck's Shoes. is fih generation, family-owned business, led by cousins Julia- Beck Gomez and Adam Beck, is combining a forward-looking strategy with a true appreciation of family legacy. Turn to page 28 to hear from the Beck's team. Special kudos also go to Wesley's Shoes, whose outstanding score put them at a very close second on this year's list. See the full list of 2022 Gold Medal Service Award winning retailers on page 42. Each store that earns a spot on Footwear Insight's Gold Medal Service Award list is screened and then "mystery shopped," with only those earning a score of 70 or above making the Gold Medal list. Turn to page 40 to see the criteria for our mystery shoppers. is year, 22 stores earned our Gold Medal award for the first time. Congratulations to the freshman class! Turn to page 36 to see the list of new winners. Another group deserving recognition are the "Consistently Consistent" stores, who have all earned a spot on the Gold Medal list every year since 2016. See that list on page 34. n Left to right, these award winners are all smiles at InStep in Austin, TX; Reno's A Proper Fit - Izaya, Elija, Mike (owner), Analisa, Gladiz; Pegasus Footwear, Woodstock, NY. Left to right, ready to deliver outstanding customer service - Mar-Lou Shoes, Lyndhurst, OH; Murray's Shoes, Littleton, CO; and Brown's Shoe Fit Co. in Ft. Collins, CO.