Mr Gill, you said it perfectly!

This is Awesome, Well Written Piece! If only more would think this way, what a wonderful and loving industry this would be!!!

It's so important to stay teachable...so important to be humble...and so important to step outside of SELF and take a chance by helping someone else

Thanks Pam for sharing this. It truly is unexpectedly iconic

Sounds awesome hoping that we can have a 'Fred ' award for the ACR industry.

The refrigeration posters last year made me excited to be working in such a wonderful industry. Now I have found your blog and I feel even more inspired.

Have a great New Year.

Paul

My dad used to tell me "God helps those that help themselves", and that coupled with is other saying, "being the best at whatever it is you do is more important and valuable than what you do" these two lessons still remain engraved in my memory, and in my actions. 

We can all make  a difference if we chose to, and then if we do, good things will follow.  And we can always start by being better at what we do.  Aiming to provide a great customer service is a great starting point for everything and anything that we do

Very good article, thanks for sharing

Nice posts, Steve! Thanks for sharing &keep it up! Having a positive, cab-do attitude can make such a difference.

You really should write a post on positive thinking as this is an attribute that you appear to have in abundance.

Last working day for me of 2015 so may I will you a Happy New Year. I look forward to reading more in 2016!

Helen

"The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity" ~ Amelia Earhart

With a New Year approaching and resolutions just about to be made, wouldn't it be great if we could simply decide ourselves to offer a superior service both in terms of technical quality, and exceptional customer service?  If we make that decision and act upon it, it will then fall to those with the tenacity to see it through .

We can all make a difference, but very few of use actually do. Time to for some resolve. 

Great article Steve. You have made a difference. Well done.

Specific customer service skills are ultimately built on -self-motivation, interest and previous experience.  Attitude is fundamental when it comes to providing exceptional customer service. That's my theory

Great message. Thanks for sharing it! Just shared it on my FB page. Amazing what we can accomplish when we build our mental and emotional muscles.  We can all make a difference when we put our minds to it.  This blog, and the global poster campaign are excellent examples of that. The winners of the ACRN customer Service award are wonderful examples of exceptional customer service. We can all learn from from. That is my new year's resolution. To make a difference. What a wonderful industry role model Steve is. #icomic

圣诞节   Merry Christmas

Wise words. Valuable business lesson. 

Jasmine from Singapore

Can't say that I had heard of Steve Gill, ACR News, Fred , or this blog before this morning.  We are based in Woburn, Massachusetts, so sometimes the news is slow getting here.
Customer service boils down to simply treating others as you would like to be treated.  Thanks for your posting. I will look out for more.

Interesting to see some comments from Australia as well as Britain.

Darren

This blog was not what I was expecting at all.  It actually made me think about the HVACR industry, and my place within it in a totally new way.   Strange as this may sound, I had forgotten just how important customer service is.  I was getting hung up on the technical solutions.

Wonderful read. Very enlightening

Due to the reach of the web, it seems strange to say that words have a globally impact, because we now take that for granted. But finding that the HVACR industry is so similar here in Australia as it is in the UK was still quite an eye opener for me

Iconic...yes!

This starts with an engaging story and then gets into a couple of practical examples that the blogger has experienced for himself - good choice.  What resonated with me were the ideas that 1. the ACR industry is actually good at customer service but doesn't promote itself as such, and 2. that individuals within the industry working hard to provide exceptional customer service typically go unnoticed by their employers, and 3. the ACR industry falls over itself to present awards to companies and organisations, but does very little to recognise individuals working within the industry.  I guess this final item is because it is simply not financially attractive to do so.  There are exceptions of course, these mostly for trainees/students, or those that have exhibited exceptional technical skill.  But by and large, the vast majority in the ACR industry have very little chance of ever being recognised for any award. That is a shame.

This article teases out all those points in a clever and engaging way.

I have very little doubt that Steve cares passionately about the industry, but  is also a champion for the wider industry workforce.  

I was sceptical when I heard this blog described as iconic, but upon reflection, I can't think how else to describe it,  It certainly is a tour de force.  Remarkably, I have the distinct impression, that this is not a 'one off' or a flash in the pan.  A quick google quickly reveals that Steve has also be crowned for exceptional customer service himself, in Vegas no less,  produced an award winning poster campaign promoting the ACR industry,  launched a mentoring scheme, a and, and and ...the list goes on.

It would be tempting to say that somewhere in all this is a large ego, and heaps of self-promotion, but remarkably, if it is there, it is undetectable.  I get the impression  it is undetectable because it is in fact completely absent.

Well done Steve.  Fantastic piece.  

Iconic? Absolutely. 

Have a great Christmas and a happy new year.  I look forward to reading your next blog

Brilliant suggestion.  Great article. Lets celebrate our 'Freds'

Such a piece of art. Congratulations Steve.  Agree with Lynn this iconic blog

Although its true, one has to be brave and self-confident to excel at customer service.  Being outward going is not my nature and although I try, I am not as self-confident as others and that comes across to customers who see me as hesitant and shy, even awkward at times.  Although I believe I do provide good customer service I can't honest think that anyone even notices me.  No award for being invisible.

This article is spot on!  Too many awards for products,  not enough for people. #iconicblog

#iconic Thanks Lynn for sharing this article, I couldn't agree more

I heard this blog had loads of interesting comments. First one read is from Aaron. Not much Christmas cheer there Aaron, the only thing missing  is a Bah Humbug :-)

Just had a mince pie at the tradecounter and that is now me finished through until New Year. Great long holiday break.

Nothing I can add to the many comments already praising this blog. For whatever reason, it is #iconic.  

Voted for Andrea.  Simply the best. Good luck. 

Very true. Good customer service keeps every one happy.  Happy customers lead to a happy business.

Last working day before Christmas break.   I visit this blog every once in a while to read the comments.  Some are very good. All are interesting. Some for the wrong reasons.

Whatever the merits of the blog itself, and I take Muthoni's point on this, the blog is a wonderful gift to the ACR industry.  Lynn said that over 700 people had voted this year. What a remarkable figure.  That is the best judging panel for any award bar none.  If 700 people from this industry think it is a good thing, well it must be.

So Merry Christmas to Steve, Lynn, and the rest of the ACR News team.  A Happy New year to you all . And to all the people leaving comments.

Finally good luck to all the finalists in February. There can only be one winner.

I would agree with all those that said this is truly #iconic.  There is nothing else like it out there.

Too many comments are being made about the style of the writing, or about the author. Not enough being said about what was being said. Too much about how it was said

If you look beyond the nit-picking and the praise, this is actually something very beautiful. Written to open our eyes to the wonderful individuals sitting opposite us, or on the other end of the phone. This has been written to give credit to them, not to the author or to ACR News or to anyone else.  How beautiful is that?

In an industry full of people trying to sell you something, or getting you to part with your money in someway. This blog has an honesty that is breathtaking.

#iconic   But you have to open your mind to see its real beauty

This blog is getting on for three years old and amazingly people are still leaving comments.

Personally, I never thought it was the best that Steve wrote but there you are.  For some reason this one stuck.

It is a pity that his voice (well his written words) has been lost to the industry, as he always had something interesting to say.  I reread some of his other blog posts this evening. They are equally as good as this one but didn't receive the recognition.  There are several with equally high profiles as Steve, but very few who use their position so effectively.

#iconic ?  you bet

Lynn and ACR News have turned this idea into the successful award that it is today.   Well done to Steve for suggesting it, but the hard work launching it, and running it for the past three years has all been done to Lynn.  Credit where it is due

Customer service, also known as manners and common sense. Fortunately I grew up in a home that valued both. Carrying over to academic life and employment was a natural transition.

Well written article but perhaps gives this industry more credit than it is due when it comes to its record of customer service.  Too many companies are reducing costs at the expense of skills. No wonder there is a skills gap.  Too many engineers spending time in the canteen and arriving without PPE to ever be considered professional. 

#iconic At last. An award to get excited about. Something we can get involved with and possibly even win one day.   I can tell you that this year's award has generated a lot of interest. Whether that is because it is open to departments now I can't say, but I can say that the excitement and interest is there out in the field.  If this blog took the process away isolated industry judges well done. Looking forward forward to February!

Doing business without good customer service is like winking at a girl in the dark; you know what you are doing, but nobody else does. :-)

No matter what you are selling be it a product or a service, customers are both judge and jury when it comes to deciding whether or not a company succeeds.  Exceptional customer will not save a sinking company, but it sure can make a successful one more successful.  

On a personal note.  I don't enjoy where I work now but I still do my best for my customers and they appreciate it I think.  The customers are the only reason I get up in the morning.