Thank you mysterious editor, for the uninvited, but not unwelcomed note from you.

I have looked at the new Awards and can see that this is a step away from what I had expected. May be it is a work in progress but I can see the direction change that has been made.  Individuals and teams, and even service engineers are up for awards. I can't imagine what the audience will think or even be like. It is a bold move given that I would guess that most of the fat cat industry bosses will feel out of place there now. Good luck. That is a genuine good luck too.

I do think that the post is well intentioned by Steve Gill and I didn't mean any criticism of his post or thoughts. He recognises the valve of those that he mentions in the post, namely site engineers both of whom he came across while on site himself. Can't fault him at all.

I just think that appreciation is a scarce commodity when it comes to staff who are miles away from the board room and not in a sales role. I doubt that any my our company board members even know my name, and it is even less likely that any one in marketing or sales will. 

Yes, as an industry we do have plenty of 'Freds' all remarkable in their own way, but equally remarkably unnoticeable. Good luck with the awards mysterious editor. And thank you for giving space to my comment and for taking the time to reply.

By the way, has anyone really read all the comments here? They go back years. Must be hundreds of them? 

Steve, I've just voted for this years ACr news Customer Service awards. It has been interesting to follow this story from the beginning from when you first proposed it, through the number of awards since then, and now it is part of the annual cycle of awards. But at least it is more than a little different from the rest. I like what ACR News have done with the awards this time around because it is more interesting to be an actual judge and play an active role in the awards than just to be a bystander. Well done ACR News!  I read through all the entries and saw that you actually get a mention in at least a couple of them. It seems that you have become an integral part of this industry and these awards. All credit to you for being active. You are a role model for us younger ones to aspired to. Thank you.  Still is a good read and is now almost 4 years old, not 3 as the previous comment said. We may now have the Fred Award but it is still interesting to read your thoughts as to why we should have one.

I hope all the people that have left comments here cast their votes and make these awards truly the industry's awards.

Very true Steve,  very true.

Interesting read Steve, full of relevance and simplicity.  So much that is written about customer service is written from a sales bias view point. Selling is tougher than it has ever been. So many customers are under extreme pressure to do more with less that finding time for them to meet a sales person is challenging. There are numerous obstacles to getting appointments with short-fused and already overloaded potential customers.  So many organisations have turned their attention to customer service as a foot in the door to more sales, with the unfortunate consequence that it often feels artificial and and little more than a ploy to sell you more. Ever received a courtesy call of a provider which starts by asking about your satisfaction with their service but then quickly moves on into a sales pitch for further services and products? I have received all too many, so it was truly inspiring to read about Fred the postman who provided excellent service for the sake of just that.   Steve, your message is both subtle and insightful.  And although I have been involved in customer service for many years, it left me with a irrepressible sense of awe, with a healthy dose of desire to do better. After reading this I realise that I can do much much better amd so can our frontline staff including our engineers. Our management have very little idea of what goes on out in the field until something goes wrong, and then suddenly they become experts.  Thanks Steve, for the inspiration and motivation to do better in this industry. Happy New Year!

Happy New Year! Made any resolutions for the coming year? I have.  My work related ones are to be the best I can be at customer service. Reading the Fred story was inspirational. I agree with you Steve, this industry has its fair share of 'Fred's' and we should shout about them more.  And a second work related resolution is to have a career like you Steve.  To say that it is rich and varied is an understatement.  Best wishes for 2017. Lets make it a year to remember! #inspired

Congratulations Steve. Not heard of the Stevie Awards before but I understand that they are huge in the States. It is amazing to find-out that you will be a judging them. Congratulations, your influence is spreading as is the recognition as your ambassador for the refrigeration industry. Well done.

I would like to share two experiences I have had recently involving customer service to compare excellent service is average service. 

I had to return some parts to the wholesaler. I phoned them and asked them to collect next time there was a drop off.  The woman on the end of the phone was very polite and helpful and explained her company's policy and procedures for this which sounded very involved with plenty of paperwork. I had to complete certain forms and book the collection. It all sounded fair enough and typical of the way firms operate but it just didn't suit me as ai was leaving site. So I said I would put the components in the van and drop them off at the next site for collection because this one had to be cleared today.  "Oh, sorry, I understand your problem but we can't do that." She then explained to me why this was. She was very polite and even apologetic for here company's position on this but there was nothing she could do. She concluded "We often come across this problem but there is nothing we can do".  Her company's approach to customer service reminded me of the situation we see everywhere with planners are footpaths. Where the footpaths have been laid in what the planners think are sensible routes but the pedestrians take short cuts across the grass in a route that suits them better.  Then, realising that the people are not sticking to the designated paths, the answer is to put up 'Keep off the Grass' signs.  We have all seen this. And this approach reminds me of  this wholesaler, and the signs, polite as they some times are 'Please keep off the grass' reminded me of this young woman. She was polite and helpful at stating their company policy, but in effectual at solving my, and it seems other customer's problems.

The second example is almost the same situation but the young woman in this example helped me when she realised that her company's usually approach didn't fit my situation.  To cut a long story short, she by passed their system in the short term to solve my issue, and then instigated a change so that if it arose again it could be dealt with quicker and easier.  To use the analogy of the grass and keep off signs, she saw that a change was needed and laid a new path.  Not in a haphazard manner I should add, but in a constructive way. She was creative at problem solving: as solving both my immediate problem and her organisation's problems with handling changing customer needs. 

In my view, people don't like being told what to do when they have an issue. They don't like to be told to 'Keep off the Grass'  or use the path that we have given you when it makes more sense to use a quicker route.  Customer service to be excellent needs to be adaptable to changing customer needs with the person handling the customers capable of adopting the most appropriate course for that customer.

Sorry this is so long winded, but I am sick of hearing how good certain people are at customer service when really they are no better than a 'Please keep off the grass' sign

Wonderful! After reading this I feel I have a changed view of the industry. We see the underbelly.  Fantastic. Can't help but feel that I will be more successful after reading this.

Thanks

Jay

Ho Steve, I can't believe this post is over three years old. It still reads fresh today. No wonder your blog is called Fresh Talk; it is because it is fresh and your words stay fresh!

I looked at the ACR News Awards new categories. They have changed for the better and really are now different from the rest. 

It is wonderful that you find time in your busy schedule to read all the comments but how about leaving some more. Has the cat got your tongue? What has happened over the past three years.  Would love to read an update from you or some more Fresh Talk

Chloe,  from Maricopa County, Arizona

I like this post from Steve very much. I realise that it is now an old post so things have moved on and the industry has at least one if not more customer services awards now.  I don't know if they were a result of this blog or not., but reading back through a few of the comments I suspect that this post was extremely influential in their creation.

I am leaving a post in the hope that Steve reads this and will write another on the importance of small businesses to this sector.  The vast majority of companies working in the ACR industry are many times greater than those large companies that we always hear some much about. They are the ones with marketing budgets that exceed the turnover of most small  ACR companies.  I work for one of these small companies. We employ only 5 staff in total. Here I am on a bank holiday doing the accounts, invoicing, and arranging next week's maintenance schedules.  The ACR industry doesn't take a break for bank holidays.

We, the small companies don't get invites to the awards dinners, and in truth we don't ever expect to win anything. Yet we are the largest part of the industry.  How does that seem fair?

I suspect, but I am not sure, that the engineer that Steve met in a Birmingham plant room (referred to in his post here) was one of ours.  Why not go ahead and name him Steve?

But the main reason for leaving this comment, is that I know that Steve works for a small company himself and so would with his writing skills and influence base be perfect to reveal this hidden aspect of the industry.  I hope he reads this and takes up teh challenge.

As for us, we have a small but loyal customer base, and dare I tempt fate and say that they are satisfied customers. Small companies offer the best customer service bar none as it is personal to us.

Okay, I'm back I'm going to it a day and spend some time with the kids. Yes, I forget to mention that I am a working mum, and we (my partner and I) run the business from our garage.   We are the frontline staff that Steve has been praising. 

Thank you Steve.

Lynn

What a surprising read!  It doesn't read as dated to me, but then we don't have a Customer Service Award where in Aus.

Many here associate customer service as a separate department and certainly not engineering. 

The idea that anyone other than a business leader or owner can collect an award is alien to this industry.  I think it is very brave and forward thinking to propose it.  Reward the best workers! - what a radical thought.  Bless you Steve 

Clever use of storytelling to convey an important message. Well done.

A thought-provoking, and enlightening read.  A new approach to the tired world of industry awards.  Customers, employers, bosses, frontline staff, and most importantly, award policy makers should read this blog.  All too often, industry awards are far too simple and far too wrong.  Make them even simpler; award the people working in this industry that make a difference.   This blog succeeds brilliantly in making a provocative idea comprehensible to mere mortals. Time to acknowledge  Freds of this world that actually are right under our noses every day of the week but whose names are not normally on the award dinner guess list.   Times are changing, it is time that industry awards changed too.

" Normal is overrated and has never been a term that should be applied to our industry."  - so stop having 'normal  'same same' awards!

I was greatly surprised to read this article. I think generally we take for granted the level of customer service being what it is and what it has always been in a particular industry.   Some oen buying an flight ticket, or ordering a meal will expect different levels of service. Some one wanting the HVAC system fixed is going to expect different to that of dealing with their bank for example.   Most large customer facing industries now expect feed-back and reviews on social media.  News of poor service at your local restaurant is soon spread. But poor service in this industry remains secret. In fact most customers stick with the devil they know as they think we are all as bad as each other.  So I think it is great that someone has taken the time to praise the service that they receive.   

Hope you are enjoying the bank holiday sunshine!

We kept the trade counter open late this morning (we normally close at 12.30) as an mobile engineer phoned to say that he urgently needed to collect some parts, and tools. We are just closing now at 2pm.  That is customer service for you.  We won't get paid for this, nor will we get any thanks from the company. I would like to mention our company name as we pride ourselves at this depot for looking after our regular customers but I won't because part of me hates the way that the company treats us. If you are a boss reading this, show respect and gratitude to your staff sometimes. The moral I got from reading about the 'Fred Factor' is that his employers knew nothing about the extra lengths he went to to please their customers and in fact didn't really appreciate what he did. His customers did but not his employers.  Well, welcome to the ACR industry too! Enjoy the sunshine while it lasts.

So much that is written about customer service that is so vague and generic that the whole subject is just a woolly subjective mess. The Fred factor is by contrast fairly straight forward; not difficult to understand at all. Steve's experience with the two site technicians is also relatively clear.  But, to make this into an award that is judged by judges against some sort of criteria will fail as it can only be experienced by the customer (whoever that may be).   I like the idea but an innovative way of arriving at a winner needs to be considered carefully.  I agree it is a great way to promote what this industry does so well but is never thanked for. Good post Steve 

This is an interesting find. 

I was following a link from the IOR LinkedIn Discussion Group which took me to an IIR page which took me to a news story on another site called Social Whirl. I then googled and found myself here. What an adventure!

This is very different to the social media story about posters that I was following but I am delighted to have found this.  With so many comments this is a truly amazing story.

Great day!

Very true!  Customer facing technicians are the lifeblood of any business but they are typically ignored when it comes to recognition for the role in customer service satisfaction.   Our company has a customer service award which always goes to a member of the sales team.   It actually is a sales award.  The management link only increased sales with customer service. The rest of the teams efforts to help and support the customer the rest of the time are never appreciated.  Great observation Steve!

Very interesting post. Made me think about what I do and how I interact with customers.

I liked the Fred Story. I had to search the web to find out more coz I was so interested.

The Fridge has a lot to be proud of and many champions working in it.

A colleague suggested that read this article 'because it is so good'! But having read it, I think that perhaps because we now have the Customer Service Award well established that what got people so excited about it being new and innovative is no longer true.  What the article proposes has happened. So isn't that the end of it?   Is s suggestion still valuable once it has been accepted and acted upon.  I am guessing, but I can only assume that those still raving about this are unaware that the article is now old and its proposal has been acting upon. We now have an award for customer service so its impact is lost.

I am sure it was a good article three years ago. It certainly stirred up a debate and sparked a new kind of award.  Full credit to Steve for that.  I understand that he is a very creative thinker and has proved this in many ways including the Poster Campaign (yes Steph this is the same guy) but lets not keep referring to this as though it is new.  If we do, some like me will jsut be left wondering what all the fuss is about

There have been awards for individuals in this industry for a while, but they have mainly been for the high profile individuals.  There are many more stars in this industry than the chosen few that seem to collect all same awards.  It is such an amazingly innovative idea to recognise the alternative stars of that we all know and work with.  Absolutely fantastic idea. I am so glad that ACRN have been running with the Customer Service award for the past 3 years. 

By the way, I know you have won many awards yourself Steve around the world, I think you will make a brillient President of the IOR. 

Super article Steve.  Truly inspirational.  Some many true words here, I found myself nodding in agreement all the way through

Hi Lynn,

I was reading back through the comments and was surprised to find the ones regarding SkilFridge including the one from you.

I think it is great to see the competition back and glad to see that you and Steve are supporting it.  I didn't make the show this time but I read the tweets from Steve and felt proud that industry is getting behind the young people again.

I think this industry has to be run by healthy balance  the experience of the grey haired brigade with the enthusiasm and energy of the younger ones for the betterment and sustainability of the whole industry.     It is great read that so many people also think like this and have an 'inclusive' not exclusive attitude. 

I am not surprised at all to read that Steve is involved in SkillFridge and is supporting it.  In a way it fits in with the ethos of his idea for a 'Fred Award'.  It is the first time that I have been excited about an incoming President of the IOR. I guess they are all good people and have contributed enormously,  but something tells me that Steve's term will be better for the whole membership.  No pressure there Steve!

Finally, I was happy to hear that Matthew won the Customer service award. Congratulations to him.  I don't wish to sound sexists but I was convinced that yet another woman would win and then it might get stuck in a rut somewhat.  Also, as Carl said, I was glad that it was an individual and not a department. Nothing against the departments involved but I someone like it that we have a new 'Fred' as an individual, not as a department, division, or organisation.  have a different category for them by all means but not in the same one please.

Have a good weekend

Thanks for listening

Graham

Hi Snoman, and Jill,

The Awards dinner was held last night in Birmingham. And the winner was: Matthew Hearne.

Very well deserved winner, but then all the finalists were great.  I didn't like the mix this time with individuals against departments so I was glad to see an individual win

You may be interested to know there is also an HVR Customer Service award here in England which was also inspired from this blog.

Carl, from a dry, but cold London.

Hi Steve. Very true what you say. Customer service is so totally under valued by this industry in favor of technical skills.  Some people are so rude and ignorant but they explained as being 'technical'.   I sometimes wonder if 'engineer' is another term for being autistic. "oh don't mind him, he's an engineer!"

Needless to say. I find this blog a real gem

I guess you are enjoying the Awards DInner in London right now. I hope to see the result posted later.  Good luck to all the finalists.  I have never been to London, or even England, but I can imagine what a grand event it will be.

This is the only industry award that I ever look to see who has won. Not because I know them but because I am interested in their story.