Footwear Insight SERVICE AWARD 2019 and 2021!

 

 SIT. FIT. AND BE RECOGNIZED 

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE 2023 SERVICE AWARD WINNERS!

It’s been five years since Footwear Insight created the Gold Medal Service Awards to recognize and honor the incredible, vital work that independent shoe shops across the country do every day. We know how hard you work to make your customers’ lives better, and we wanted to give the stores that go above and beyond the recognition they deserve.

Because the stakes have never been higher.

As competition proliferates, the in-store experience — the expertise, the fit, the selection, the personal touch — is what gives footwear independents their greatest advantage.

We see it. Stores see it. And so do brands.

“Sit-and-fit comfort independent stores are the heart and soul of the industry, and are our absolute bullseye,” David Kahan, CEO of Birkenstock Americas said.

“OS1st is dedicated to the independent market for a lot of reasons but the service and customer satisfaction levels in the channel never cease to amaze me,” said Josh Higgins, president of ING Source Inc., parent company of OS1st Socks. “The channel fits perfectly for what we are trying to accomplish with our ‘Socks with Purpose’ program: We are both actively trying to help people live a more active, healthy lifestyle.”

That’s why we launched the awards in 2015. And we’re thrilled to say that service has never been better.

This year, we have the largest number of first-time inductees we’ve ever had — and as many inductees as we’ve ever had. On pages 31 and 32, we profile some of the very, very best: Five stores of the 120 we shopped notched perfect scores (or yes, even better than perfect — see page 40 for the criteria).

There are only 10 stores who have earned a Gold Medal Service Award for all of the past five years,  and we asked them for their secrets. The result is a step-by-step guide to making that award-winning service — the kind that drives sales and wins lifelong loyalty, an everyday habit in any shop.

(And if you’re just eager to get to the scores, we get it — you’ll find the complete list of Gold Medal Service Winners on page 44.)

Here’s to great service — and to the shops that set the standard.