More than 80 people turned out yesterday evening for the Fort Frances Chamber of Commerce’s “Business After Hours” deck party at La Place Rendez-Vous.
The highlight of the evening, however, was the announcement of the 10 customer service awards handed out by the Rainy River Future Development Corp.
This year’s winners included (in alphabetical order) Cloverleaf Grocery (Emo), Corner Closet (Emo), Curves For Women, Fort Frances General Supply, Green’s Countrywide Furniture, McTaggarts, NCDS, Northridge Funeral Home (Emo), Northwoods Gallery & Gifts, and Warehouse One.
Honourable mentions went to Canada Safeway, Canadian Tire, Global Gaming, Howarth’s Home Centre, Lidkea’s Optometry Clinic, Mario’s Jewellers, Norlund Oil (Emo), Scrap-a-Bit (Emo), Skills and Employment Source, and the Super 8 Motel.
“The only reason I get involved in this is because I get all the pictures in the paper,” awards presenter George Emes, with Edward Jones, joked with the crowd.
“This is the fifth year [for the awards] and obviously it was a success,” noted Emes.
“We had 35 businesses registered and our mystery shoppers were really shopping hard,” he noted.
“The true idea behind the concept is to seek out businesses that provide great customer service on a daily basis—this is how we all get repeat customers,” Emes stressed.
“Customer service is important, and it’s really noticeable when you walk into a business and you’re treated well,” said Bill Gushulak, owner of Fort Frances General Supply on Mowat Avenue.
“We’re just really proud to be part of this large group of nominees and we’re pleased to be here,” he added.
The customer service challenge has been an annual event and this year, in particular, the margin between the winners and runners-up was very close.
“We really appreciate that,” said Emes. “That means that the businesses are working very hard on their customer service.”
Fort Frances Times
Local News from Across the Rainy River District
