Cammie Weitzel, General Manager, World Floor Covering Association (WFCA), recently announced the annual winner of the Gold Standard Award for excellence in retailing. Dalton Carpet One Floor & Home, an independently-owned shop in Athens, GA, took home the honor, which includes a $5,000.00 check, press recognition, a trophy, acknowledgement on the WFCA website and a customized WFCA seal for their store entrance. The award will be presented in-person by representatives of the WFCA at the store.

“To say that Dalton Carpet One Floor & Home ‘goes the extra mile’ seems a bit of an understatement after reviewing their award submission and customer testimonials,” said Weitzel. “Their business plan not only includes a clear cut mission statement, corporate vision and value code, but they also put each staff member through personality training programs designed to help them interact effectively with all types of customers. It doesn’t stop there either. After every job, staff members follow up with the customer to ensure satisfaction and almost all of the installations are personally inspected and reviewed by the salesperson to ensure perfection. Just when the customer thinks they’ve seen the last of Dalton Carpet One, representatives of the store deliver thank you gifts and handwritten personalized letters.”

In response to receiving the award, Mike Blanton, President of Dalton Carpet One, stated, “We are thrilled to be recognized and honored with the Gold Standard Award. Customer satisfaction is our number one goal at Dalton Carpet One Floor & Home and everything that we do from the way we categorize our showroom to the weekly training courses we encourage every staff member to attend centers around this objective. Knowing that our business has reached this pinnacle and that the WFCA has recognized us for exemplified business conduct is extremely gratifying for all of us at Dalton Carpet One Floor & Home.”

To receive the Gold Standard Award, companies are reviewed and judged based on:

• Knowledge – ensuring a knowledgeable management and staff who work to remain actively informed on the industry;
• Customer Service – providing courteous service and offering customers help throughout the purchase and after-purchase process;
• Quality of Store Image – a clean, professional, well maintained store must be presented at all times;
• Code of Conduct  — the facility must adhere to the WFCA Code of Conduct.

In addition, companies must also be a member of the WFCA, have been in business for at least 3 years and have a clean Better Business Bureau report.

To enter, applicants filled out a multiple page submission form and presented multimedia marketing materials and other collateral that were factored into the review process. The deadline cutoff for submissions was December 31, 2012.

Companies interested in entering or nominating an entrant for the 2013 Gold Standard Award can visit wfca-pro.org formore details.