Dalton–Scott Humphrey, CEO of the World Floor Covering Association (WFCA), announced that McSwain Carpet and Floors of Cincinnati was the recipient of the Gold Standard Award for excellence in retailing.
The WFCA Gold Standard Award carries with it a $5,000 check, a trophy, acknowledgement on the WFCA website and a customized WFCA seal for the winning store’s entrance.
“McSwain stood out from the crowd in many ways but their overall mantra sums it up best—‘to put the customer first and to meet and exceed expectations 100% of the time,’” Humphrey said. “Not only has this store continued to achieve financial growth in a challenging market, they have also netted high ratings in customer satisfaction, retention, and new business word-of-mouth referrals. A true testament of their retail mastery—what some might consider to be the Holy Grail—they have achieved extremely high ratings for ‘employee satisfaction and retention.’”
Humphrey noted that McSwain also received the highest honors a retailer can achieve from Armstrong, which honored McSwain with its Elite award, which is given to the top 2% of more than 11,200 independent flooring stores nationwide.
According to Armstrong, McSwain represents the very best of what a retailer should be. Consumers can count on them for ‘an expert team of trained product professionals dedicated to helping shoppers choose the right floor.’”
Jason McSwain, owner, said the company was thrilled to have won the Gold Standard award. “We have been serving the metro Cincinnati community for over 45 years and in that time we have continued to build on our foundation, not only as a retailer focused on our customer’s experience but also as a pillar of support in our community. At McSwain, we value ‘giving back’ as a central mission in our business model. Our employees are encouraged to be leaders in all capacities within the community and our business supports this. We are active with many causes including St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, ‘Homes For Our Troops’, Habitat for Humanity, the establishment of a free medical clinic in Cincinnati and multiple other charitable causes.”
For the first time the WFCA also recognizing five additional stores for Gold Standard Honorable Mentions:
- Carpet Plus, Charlottesville, Va.;
- Classique Floors, Portland, Ore.;
- Sergenians Floor Coverings, Madison, Wis.;
- Cash and Carry Flooring, Traverse City, Mich.
- Coles Fine Flooring, San Diego
Companies interested in entering or nominating an entrant for the 2017 Gold Standard Award can visit wfca-pro.org for more details.