The ACR Industry needs a 'Fred' Award

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The ACR Industry needs a 'Fred' Award

It is around twenty years ago that Mark Sanborn, a professional speaker, trainer and author on leadership and customer services met Fred his postman. Mark had just moved into his new home in Denver when Fred knocked on his door, introduced himself and welcomed him to the neighbourhood. He also asked Mark about himself and how he wanted his mail handled while he was away.

Mark was astonished. This was not the service he had come to expect from a postman. He was truly pleasantly surprised and delighted by Fred's approach and manner.

Mark became interested and asked Fred more about his job and how he approached it. Fred's answers inspired him to develop motivational seminars and a bestselling book (The Fred Factor) promoting Fred's attitude and approach to life.
In a nutshell, the Fred philosophy is to realise and practise that everyone can make a difference; success is built on good relationships; you must continually create value for others and it doesn't have to cost anything; you can reinvent yourself whenever you want.

In the past few months I have had the pleasure to meet two 'Fred's from the ACR industry. The first was a service engineer who I bumped into by chance when I walked into a client's refrigeration plant room on a site in Birmingham. The young engineer was knowledgeable, enthusiastic, helpful and a pleasure to speak to. The second was a food factory engineer who managed the refrigeration plant along with all the other services required in a modern food production environment. Although not a specialist refrigeration engineer, he went out of his way to provide the information I required and to answer all my questions and more.

Both of these engineers embodied excellent customer service qualities described in the 'Fred Factor'.

We should never forget that although highly technical by nature, the ACR industry is a still a service industry with customer service excellence being a key to business success. If you think that is a cliché, imagine how long a company can survive that ignores this in the competitive market place we find ourselves in today. Customers do have a choice and they will go to where they perceive they most consistently get what pleases and impresses them.

The 'Fred' philosophy is built on timeless values like personal responsibility, authentic relationships, and respect for others. It is in essence, a mind-set that looks for and seizes opportunities to turn the ordinary into the extraordinary.
The ACR industry has individuals who go beyond the ordinary and create extraordinary experiences for their clients. These are not only service engineers; they are from all business fields, from sales through to administrators. Their attitude to customer service should be recognised by this industry in the same way as technical excellence is. Normal is overrated and has never been a term that should be applied to our industry. We should have a 'Fred' Award, although I am sure that we can give it a more appropriate name from one of the many fine examples from our own industry.

Posted by Steve Gill 15 April 2013 23:21:00 Categories: Fresh Talk

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Comments

By Patrick Bird

16 April 2013 00:24:00

Do we really need more industry awards?

I would have said not. but Steve's proposal is so different to the others that we currently have and should really be open to anyone that makes a difference that it is an award for the ordinary people of the industry, the extraordinary ones that is.
Great idea, so yes, lets have one more award; a very worthy one.

By Neil

16 April 2013 00:23:00

Hello Steve, you may be interested to know that Mark Sanborn sells 'Fred Factor' Recognition Certificates from his website: http://www.marksanborn.com/store/The-Fred-Factor-Recognition-Certificate-p-16151.html

These are downloadable and are signed by Mark and Fred

I enjoyed your blog and think you have made a very valid point about something that is being overlooked these days.

By Cory

16 April 2013 00:22:00

Steve, you have written an interesting blog and made an excellent suggestion. It is our hope that the ACR Industry has such an award in the future.

Reading the many comments is also interesting and I congratulate you and the commentators on making this such a good discussion.

Well done to all

By James Tain

16 April 2013 00:21:00

Good idea. Something new for the ACR industry

By Jon

16 April 2013 00:20:00

I was thinking that Amy's comments sounded wrong about her not wanted to be considered a Fred. but after speaking to a female colleague i know understand much better. I would not really want to be referred to as an 'Amy'. No matter how nice Amy is.
Amy does have a point when considered that way

However, like Amy, and many others here, I still think this is a great idea. So why not just the ACR News Extraordinary Customer Care Award?

By DB

16 April 2013 00:19:00

The extraordinary getting noticed is not something we as an industry we do well. Quite the opposite.
About time we changed
Good blog Steve

By Postman Pat

16 April 2013 00:18:00

Hello Steve, a very interesting blog and I like your idea that extraordinary customer experience should be recognised and rewarded, but, I think there is a fault in the Fred concept that you have used to promote this idea.
Fred, the postman is extraordinary because he made a very mundane repetitive his own. He owned that job and made is special
There are very jobs in the ACR industry that can be described at mundane. While one may make any job their own, the reference to the postman here just does not work unfortunately
Love the idea. A very bold initiative, but you need to rethink the name

By Fred Westerink

16 April 2013 00:17:00

Dear All, I just want to say that there is nothing wrong with the name Fred. If you have a hang-up about that, well, just get over it.
The concept of the award sounds great. Don't get stuck with a problem with a name
I never have

By Damian Kolodziejski

16 April 2013 00:16:00

Steve, I enjoyed reading your blog. It reminded me of a 'Fred' that I came across recently. He was an sparky wiring up the refrigeration system and temperature monitoring. He also was the commissioning engineer. This guy really took the customers interests to heart and went out of his way to deliver a top class installation but also explained to the client all the way through the process what was happening so that he could take on board any changes/comments that the customer wanted or made. He then trained the customer so that by the time he left the site, the customer really knew the plant well himself. And of course, he left his own details including his own home phone number just in case the client could not reach another service engineer in the event of a problem
That was a few years ago, and I know that the two have exchanged Christmas cards ever since, even though the customer has never had to call upon him for help since the installation. That is extraordinary service.
It is a good idea to have an industry award so that we can share these positive experiences and stories with others.

By David Goldberg

16 April 2013 00:15:00

Steve greetings from the USA. Employers here have many in-house employee of the month/year awards aimed at improving customer service. They help to maintain the focus on this important area of business.
The idea of having an industry level award for this is appealing for the same reasons and if it can gain support from the end-users as well as the employers, I think it could prove to be a great success.
Good luck. Great idea.

By Rohit Arora

16 April 2013 00:14:00

I have traveled many trade exhibitions and shows, and attending numerous industry dinners in my time. The idea of an award for extraordinary customer service is something that I have never seen or heard of before in the ACR industry anywhere in the world.
I think this is a great idea and I hope it takes off

By David L

16 April 2013 00:13:00

Neil, can I nominate someone here? I mean, can I name them and their company?

We have a project manager on site at the moment over seeing an installation and he is the bees knees.

By Jumbo

16 April 2013 00:12:00

Good idea Steve

By Paul Stokes

16 April 2013 00:11:00

Steve, you are Top Man! At last someone who cares about this industry and the people in it.
Most of the top brass of this industry either care only for profits or whether it should be a capital or a small letter after the refrigerant number.
Steve, you are the ACR Industry's Fred

By Mark Jones

16 April 2013 00:10:00

Steve, this is a good reminder that we are a service industry as a whole, not just our service departments.
Wonderful idea to recognise people from the ACR industry who really do make someone else's day

Should call this the Steve Gill Award I think

By Simon

16 April 2013 00:09:00

Good blog. Hope this flys

Good luck Neil with making this happen

By RC

16 April 2013 00:08:00

Steve, I think this is a wonderful idea and I enjoyed reading your blog. It was the first time I had looked at your blog. I was steered here by a colleague who had read it earlier and liked it and your suggestion.
I would however, like to make two comments:
1. I work for an end-user in the food production sector. We have an internal policy of NOT sending out any letters of commendation to suppliers of any sort no matter how good they are. This is for commercial reasons and also legal reasons I am told. Whatever the true reason, it is company policy so I could not nominate a Fred even if I came across one. This may not be representative of the industry as a whole but I thought that you should be made aware
2. I really do not like the name Fred for the award. I would not want to call anyone a Fred or be called a Fred. It may be a personal thing but something about the name makes me think that the person must be a bit of a Charlie.

However, I think your idea is great and this is a very good initiative which generally will go down very well with everyone if they understand the concept first

Good luck with it

Neil, I think there is enough information already mentioned from others as to judging criteria.

By the way, we actually do have someone visiting our site how fits the description of a Fred in your sense. He only changes the filters on the AHUs and cleans the ducting and cooling coils but I learn more about our system from him than I do from anyone else

By Duke

16 April 2013 00:07:00

Good idea. Takes a Fred to know a Fred. Well done Steve

By ICE MAN

16 April 2013 00:06:00

Someone told me about the Fred Award and this blog so I had a look. It makes more sense when you read about it than when you are told about about it.
When I was told there would be a Fred Award I thought it was a sort of insult. As in a Fred being a donkey, slow type person. But when I read the blog it makes sense.
I think it is a good idea but I have to say the name sucks. I wouldn't want to have to keep explaining what a Fred is to people who thought as I did at first. Think about it, I am right. Right?

By Neil Everitt

16 April 2013 00:05:00

As feared we appear to be having problems posting comments to this page...although if you can read this comment perhaps the problem has been fixed.

Please bear with us and I'll try to ensure that we don't lose any, although I fear that may already have happened.

If you cannot see your post do not re-submit just yet as I do have a few comments pending.

By Jason

16 April 2013 00:04:00

I agree with you, and do not wish to distract from the positive discussion here.

I wrote is hast and let my emotions take over.

Please remove the offending entry from this blogs comments

Thanks

Jason

By Amy

16 April 2013 00:03:00

Hi Steve, I notice that most of the people leaving comments here are men.
I would like to say that I enjoyed your blogs immensely and this one particularly has received a lot of attention. Yours should do also.

However, I must say that as a woman working in the ACR industry I would not like to be described as a 'Fred'. I think the concept is great and I think it is a wonderful suggestion on your part but I do feel that you should have suggested a suitable alternative name for the Award.

I notice that a few have suggested calling it after yourself, which is fine if that is acceptable to you, but please drop the 'Fred' aspect of all this. Great as the idea is, the name will turn some people off.

I hope it takes off and that I am lucky enough to be nominated. That really would be wonderful

By Colin Crowl

16 April 2013 00:02:00

Interesting blog. We all appreciate a Fred when we come across one but it is all too rare these days.

Never of them being called a 'Fred' before and i am not sure that I like the name, but I love the concept of the award and giving these people the recognition they deserve

By Neil Everitt

16 April 2013 00:01:00

Jason, I should point out that the blog author, Steve Gill, as a member of the IoR Council, is himself one of the "heavyweights" at the Institute that you disparagingly describe.

Being a learned Institute involved in promoting our academic and practical understanding of all things refrigeration and air-conditioning (and heat pumps) this would fall outside its normal scope. What is being suggested here is very much a commercial award to reward exceptional customer service and care.

Jason, we very much appreciate your input but please keep and personal attacks and comments from this thread. They are really not relevant.

By Jason

16 April 2013 00:00:00

Neil,

Please remove my earlier comment about the IOR and Andy Pearson.

I agree that it has no place in this discussion and may distract attention away from the main aim of the blog

Thanks

Jason

By Tom Colletti

15 April 2013 23:59:00

Steve, great idea. I think this award will open people's eyes to the extraordinary work that the ACR industry does and the people working within it
Great blog
Tom

By Marilou Gonzales

15 April 2013 23:58:00

Steve, I heard about your blog and the Fred Award from a colleague.
Had to read it for myself. Great idea. I will circulate this around to our suppliers and customers in the industry
I hope it gains the support you need to get this going

By Graham Marsh

15 April 2013 23:57:00

Steve, I think this idea has legs so I hope you can make it run.

The guy that delivers our installation materials is our Fred. We never lose anything that is delivered to site and he always makes sure that it is the correct item in the box so that there are no nasty surprises later during the installation
He doesn't work for us, he works for the supplier but I think of him as one of the best guys on our team.

Great blog, great idea, great initiative

By Trevor Wende

15 April 2013 23:56:00

Steve, great thought provoking blog, and also some interesting comments and stories from others.
We do have a company award given on a regular basis every month for the member of staff who is perceived as giving the best customer service. It has worked very well and the individuals really do seem to appreciate the recognition.
An industry wide award opens up all sorts of sharing best practice possibilities and the potential for industry recognition by our clients is also invaluable.
I read your blogs regularly and think you are becoming the voice of the industry in a soft and gentle way. You don't shout about technical issues or campaign for changes to FGas Regulations in your blogs, but you open peoples minds to the wider fantastic industry that we are in. That is no mean feat.
Neil, I agree with others here that the nominations should come from customers. It would also be good if the judges could be our customers too. They will know best what they are looking for.
As for the award name; Steve Gill Award for Extraordinary Customer care gets my vote.

Great quote:

"Normal is overrated and has never been a term that should be applied to our industry"

By Jason

15 April 2013 23:55:00

Just bought the Fred Factor Book from Amazon. It is an interesting read about the postman but is not earth shattering. It is a simple read and really just keeps repeating the same story over and over again.
Not recommended for anyone reading this blog but could be of interest to Neil and the judging team for working out the criteria for the award.

By Dave Wilkinson (from Aus)

15 April 2013 23:54:00

Hi, may be it is a cultural thing but here in Aus we have no problems with naming awards after living people. It seems that in GB you have to die first.

Interesting read and good idea. I will see if we can get something started similar here.

I do agree with many though when they say that calling in the Fred Award is not such a great idea.

Cheers

By Jean-Marie

15 April 2013 23:53:00

Hello, I am from Canada and run my own small refrigeration service and repair business. I am what you would call a one man band.
I like the idea of an award where the customers can nominate a person that gives something special and makes every encounter an extraordinary experience for them.
I am never going to get a pat on the back from my boss, because I am one and the same, but I do of course get personal satisfaction from doing a good job.
I am sure that there are many in similar roles around the world and in the UK. We are part of the ACR industry but do not work for large organizations so tend to be missed off most people's lists when the they of the industry.
By the way, although the name 'Fred' Award is a good catchy name to hang this award onto, it is also a gimmick and sales ploy to sell more books by the author. I won't want to receive a 'Fred' award to be honest but think the concept is great
Steve, I always enjoy reading your blogs. I look forward to the next one.
Neil, thank you for taking this up and showing an interest. If anyone can make this happen it is you.

By Ron Smith

15 April 2013 23:52:00

Steve, this is a wonderful idea.
The award can be a source of inspiration for others aspiring to raise their own performance and also to be recognised for it.
We should acknowledge the extraordinary contribution that some people make to our working day.
The judging criteria can be fairly flexible but should embrace the mind-set that has been described by others here.

I am not sure how the name 'Fred' will work in the Acr industry setting and agree that there should be a different name.

Good blog Steve, and thank you to Neil for taking this up.

By Jason

15 April 2013 23:51:00

Neil, I hope you don't lose this. When was ACR News sold and to who? I must have missed that news

Peter Mall, it takes a big man to admit that he may have been wrong and an even bigger man to say so in public. I agree the sarcasm was not called for and I actually did mean it when I said that your comments are always welcomed.

Andy Pearson (the less famous one!), you closed your comments by asking what your famous namesake thinks. I have nothing against the Past President of the IOR but some of you may recall that I did clash with him last year. I wish that was all water under the bridge as far as I am concerned as I understand that he is actually a very nice, sincere guy who can be very charming to be with, but I fear that by inviting involvement from the heavy weights at the IOR, the whole concept of this award will be hijacked and lost in analysis by the Professors and critique by the Doctors and other boffins there, and weighed down by the whole bureaucratic hypocritical lame duck that the IOR has become.
The proposal is for an award based upon very simple human interaction. Old fashioned values in a modern hectic world.
I know I am very blinkered on this matter but at least I recognise that. If the more famous Andy Pearson wishes to make a contribution to this discussion he should be welcomed and so should his comments, I am truly sorry that I have so many misgivings about his behaviour in the past. Lets keep this award about those amazing people who shine and not lose it to industry politics.

By Neil Everitt

15 April 2013 23:50:00

As some of you may know, ACR News and the ACR website were recently acquired by new owners. Over the next 24 hours or so we may lose this particular blog from Steve and all your very interesting comments as the website is moved to new servers.

I have, however, saved all the comments to date, so will attempt to reinstate them when the website is fully back up and running.

By all means keep the comments and suggestions coming - and hopefully we won't lose any in the move.

Thanks again for your interest.

By Andy Pearson

15 April 2013 23:49:00

Firstly, I am NOT the well known Andy Pearson - President of the IOR, nor are we related, ok?
Now, that out of the way, I would just like to say that I think this is a great idea from Steve and agree with him that we need an alternative name for it for two reasons. 1, as a few have pointed out including Steve, an award named after an american postman may not be well received in the UK ACR industry, no matter how nice and genuine the actual Fred in real life is, and 2. The Fred Award is a bowling trophy presented at the first annual Muppet Awards in The Muppet Show episode 412. It is awarded by the Muppet Academy of Arts and Sciences - http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/The_Fred_Award
We can not have anyone receiving a muppet award. that is just wrong.
BUT, this is really a great idea and has caught a few people's imagination.
I would go with Steve Gill Award for Extraordinary Customer Service, but can understand why others may object. What ever the title, please not Fred Award and please make this happen. It is such a simple and yet great idea
Thanks, I wonder if the other more famous Andy Pearson agrees??

By Paul Parry

15 April 2013 23:48:00

Great idea from one of the industries most creative thinkers. A worthy winner of the Alan Moor Award perhaps?

Neil, I have nothing to add to what has been said by others but I do think that the customer has to be the one either making the nomination direct or through the employer. I don't think that an employer alone should be able to.

By Peter Malli

15 April 2013 23:47:00

Jason, sarcasm is the lowest form of humour.

For the other, more sensible people leaving comments here, I would just like to say that after discussing this with my colleagues here I now have a far better understanding of what Steve is proposing and upon reflection, I think it may be a good idea in principle, however, I really still not think that the calling it the Fred Award is. I had missed the end of Steve's blog and agree with him that their must be a better name for this.

Good luck with it and Steve, thanks again for such a thought provoking blog. It has caused more discussion here than anything has for a long while.

PM

By Graham Smith

15 April 2013 23:46:00

Just want to say what a great idea.

By John S

15 April 2013 23:45:00

Neil, I think the judging criteria should be someone who "turns the ordinary into the extraordinary."
I think many people will claim to offer good customer service but few will truly go the extra mile and provide extraordinary customer service. This is what the judges need to look for.
As many others have said here, this award shouldn't be restricted to service engineers but should be thrown open to anyone from the Acr industry in whatever capacity. I think we may find more unsung heros but of a very different kind to the Alan Moor Award.
I have spoken to a few others and they also think it is a great idea.

By Jason

15 April 2013 23:44:00

To Peter Malli, thank you for your valuable contribution to this discussion. Your insightful comments are always welcomed.
Your words and sentiment serve to remind me that "normal is overrated and has never been a term that should be applied to our industry".

To Neil, I think the customer will have to nominate but I also think that will be a problem as many, may be all, will not be from the ACR industry and hence will be unaware of the Award and the nomination process. Therefore, I think to make it far, the nomination can come from employers but must be supported by the customer.

By FM Man

15 April 2013 23:43:00

Steve, this is a great idea. I am on the facilities management side of the industry looking after AC equipment on a university campus. I would never stand any chance of winning any of the existing ACR Industry Awards but that doesn't mean that my contribution is any less. I go out of my way to provide excellent service and always give my best. My work may not be earth shattering from a technical perspective but end-user has written to my employer twice in the past five years to say how pleased they are with my service.
I think there are others like me who deserve recognition for going the extra mile as someone put it.
Your blogs always raise industry issues and say what a wonder industry this is. You are right, and this is your best blog yet.
Great idea. I hope Neil can make this happen.

By Peter Malli

15 April 2013 23:42:00

Jason, the only thing you got right is that I totally disagree

By Jules

15 April 2013 23:41:00

I think Neil has summed this up very well. Most companies these days pay lip service to customer care. They say they put the customer first but in reality the business economics mean that there are not enough resources to do more than just cover what is required. We live in the age of the lean business with all that comes with that.

Neil also describes the nearest Award category that we have as an industry. It is given different names by each of the Awards Dinners but it is in fact very similar in criteria. Good as these awards are, they are not what Steve has proposed. In fact they are not even close so I don't quite see why anyone can confuse the two.

To answer Neil's questions, I think the nomination has to come from the customer (whoever that might be). It can hardly come from the individual, it could in theory come from the employer (as these are more likely to be aware of the award), but the best people have to be the customers who have received the special attention and service.

What should the criteria be: I think Steve gives most of this in his blog but it can be built upon. To quote directly from Steve's blog:
"The philosophy is to realise and practise that everyone can make a difference; success is built on good relationships; you must continually create value for others and it doesn't have to cost anything"
"philosophy is built on timeless values like personal responsibility, authentic relationships, and respect for others. It is in essence, a mind-set that looks for and seizes opportunities to turn the ordinary into the extraordinary."

It is certainly not about selling more (although selling more could be a result). It is about adding value from direct personal involvment.

I agree with Steve that it shouldn't however be called the 'Fred" Award.

I think this is a really fantstic suggestion from Steve. It will also make for an exciting Award if managed well. Anyone is a potential winner from the office junior, through to the seasoned sales manager, the vastly experienced service engineer, to the trade counter assistant, to the service administrator. The list is as long as jobs in the industry.

Steve pointed out that at the end of the day we are a service industry so to raise the importance of customer care with excellent examples from the ACR Industry will draw focus and attention to the good that is being done out there on a daily basis and turn it away from the negatives that a service provider naturally has when something goes wrong. As someone else said, the customer onnly ususal shout when there has been a problem.

Even someone that receives the complaints can ensure the customer is ultimately satisfied if they care enough.

Neil, it is good to have your support and understanding. I hope others will also put forward their support and also offer suggestions to your questions.

By Neil Everitt

15 April 2013 23:40:00

Hi Mike. Yes I do think it is a realistic proposition. Many companies claim to provide good customer service but in an era of stringent cost cutting few can actually afford to provide it even if they wanted to. Even fewer encourage good customer service amongst their employees.

Our own Alan Moor Award is designed to reward someone in the industry who has given freely of their time and efforts for the benefit of the industry as a whole but has never attained "high office", ie president of the IoR, FETA, BRA, etc, or received MBE, OBE.

This something different. What is being suggested here, I think, is an employee within the acr industry who has shown, and continues to show, great customer service.

So what do people here think the criteria should be and how should it the winner decided upon?
Nomination by a customer?

By Mike

15 April 2013 23:39:00

I have been following this blog thread with some interest.
I think Peter Malli has completed missed the point and needs to learn both between the lines and also what is actually written.
The idea of an Award that recognises someone from our industry in whatever position and at any level for going the extra mile for customer service seems an excellent one to me. It will draw attention to the important aspect of business life. Steve never suggested that it actually be called the 'Fred' Award if you bothered to read to the very end.
I hope someone picks this up and makes it a reality. They may be surprised by the number of entries.
What do you say Mr Neil Everitt of ACR News,is it an realistic proposition?

By Jason

15 April 2013 23:38:00

Ouch Peter. Thank heavens its Friday, you need the weekend off.
If the name of the award is the ONLY thing out of step as you say, then a simple name change and we have a winner which you can't complain about. I suspect that you will come back and now say that is not the only thing out of step.
If you had read the blog through to the end, Steve does suggest that we give it a more suitable title. So, all we have to do is wait for the untimely demise of a worthy eminent person from the ACR Industry whose memory will be immortalised by being associated with exceptional customer service or, we give it another name ; ACR Exceptional Customer Service award ...or the like. Or why not just call it the Steve Gill Award. Why not? That will confuse everyone as they will naturally assume that something has happened to him.
Have a good weekend Peter. I expect you will disagree with all of this.
Personally, I think this award is a great idea. I have spoken to a few people and they all can think of a 'Fred'. That has to be worth celebrating and also broadcasting around the industry. Right? I say again, good idea Steve, good blog.

By Peter Malli

15 April 2013 23:37:00

The only thing out of step here is the suggestion that an award named after an american postman has any place in the UK ACR industry.

By Malcolm Gale

15 April 2013 23:36:00

To Peter Malli,
Of course care of customers is part of any business I don't think anyone would disagree with you on that, but I think you have perhaps you missed the point that Steve is suggesting that certain individuals do something extra special and shine no matter what the business policy is. As I mentioned, as an end-user I have come across one engineer that stood-out at the time in the same way as Fred the postman did for Mark Sanborn.
I for one think an Award for this would be a welcome addition to the ACR industry and disagree with you that it would be a duplication of existing industry champion ones.
You are of course entitled to your opinion the same as anyone else, but judging by the comments left by others here, I would suggest that yours are out of step with the general unconscious.

By Peter Malli

15 April 2013 23:35:00

The care of customers is currently the domain of business and should remain so. It should be left to individual companies to reward their staff as they feel fit or otherwise.
An industry wide Award for customer care would be difficult to judge and also has little to do with air-conditioning or refrigeration.
Steve has written a thought provoking blog but I disagree that the industry needs such an award. I also agree with Graham Young that this is almost a duplication of similar awards currently available.

By Mark Canham

15 April 2013 23:34:00

Putting the customer at the heart of every thing one does is good business practice. However, many businesses forget this and poor customer service is all too common. As individuals, it is still possible to make a difference not what the company policy dictates or standard procedures determine. When we meet a 'Fred' it makes a big difference to our perception of the company and of the service provided.
Steve, I do not normally leave a comment but I found that your blog this time has left me thinking of how I behave and also how our staff behave towards customers and even to each other.
It would be interesting to hear of the 'Freds' that the ACR Industry has and an Award is one way of showcasing them. Good idea.