Hicksville, N.Y.—For the past eight years, manufacturers have touted Floor
Covering News’ Award of Excellence as the one true measure of success because it
is awarded to them by their customers. At the same time, retailers, as well as
distributors, installers and designers have come to understand the importance of
the Award as many go out of their way to ensure their vote is cast. As the
competition gets ready to kick off its ninth year, a number of changes have been
made to ensure the Award of Excellence remains the industry’s most coveted
benchmark for success. The most notable is the World Floor Covering Association
( WFCA), the industry’s largest retail advocacy group, has become an official
sponsor of the Award of Excellence.
“The WFCA is proud to cosponsor the annual Award of Excellence program with
Floor Covering News,” said D. Christopher Davis, the organization’s CEO. “WFCA
is committed to enhancing quality in our industry and this competition is
designed to recognize and reward quality.” Al Wahnon, FCNews’ editor and
publisher, said, “We are honored by WFCA’s sponsorship of this prestigious event
and its coveted awards. It is fitting the association representing the largest
group of flooring retailers in the world is a co-sponsor of a program that
involves retailers, who alone elect the recipients of the Award of Excellence.
The participation of the WFCA in the Award of Excellence program adds another
dimension to the industry’s most respected competition.”
Davis added, “In this era of consolidation and with a dwindling number of
manufacturer partners from which to choose, it is critical for retailers to
choose business suppliers/partners who focus on complete customer satisfaction.
The Award of Excellence program recognizes those who are the best at delivering
on their promise of design, quality, service and value.” This year’s competition
is once again open to any mill participating in one of the six flooring
categories—Carpet, Area Rugs, Resilient, Hardwood, Ceramic and Laminate. Not
only will each manufacturer be eligible to win in its respective segment, it has
the chance to take home the coveted Best Overall Manufacturer title.
By having the contest open to manufacturers of all sizes the playing field is
leveled, especially since unlike other industry contests, no entry fee is
required for a company to participate in the Award of Excellence, nor is there
an illusion of a large company unfairly competing against a smaller one (i.e., a
mill that does under a $100 million in one category but overall does over $1
billion is still a billion-dollar company, yet others pit them against those
manufacturers that truly do less than $100 million in annual sales). This
ensures the winners are truly the best-of-the-best because they competed with
every manufacturer in their respective category as well as for the overall honor
and not just those companies who elected to pay an entry fee just to
participate.
Along with the contest winners being determined by its constituents, WFCA
likes the fact there are no charges as well as all manufacturers of floor
covering are eligible to participate. “There are no fees to enter the
competition nor any other barriers to nomination,” Davis said. “The procedures
that have been put in place ensure these awards are open to all floor covering
manufacturers of the product categories represented, regardless of a company’s
size, affiliation or origin. “Most importantly,” he added, “the voter is the one
who gets to make all the choices, just as it is in the marketplace.” The way
people vote has also been enhanced this year. A ballot will be published
starting in the Oct. 11 edition of FCNews and running through the Jan. 24, 2005
issue. Eligible voters (everyone except manufacturer personnel) will be asked to
write the top three companies—from first to third—in each category as well as
for the Overall Best Manufacturer. The deadline to submit a ballot is Jan. 31,
2005.
In addition to ballots being in the print edition, FCNews wants to ensure
everyone eligible to vote can, so people can submit their choices via, mail,
e-mail (fcnews@optonline.net), fax or through our Web site (www.floorcovering
news.net) no later than Jan. 31 in order to be counted. Ballots will also be
made available through a variety of other ways, such as at industry events. The
one aspect that has not changed deals with the reasons for selecting a
particular company over another. The criteria goes beyond design, service,
value, performance, quality, professionalism of sales force and management
responsiveness. It gets more specific when it comes to three important business
components:
• Ease of doing business, including order entry, order tracking, timely
delivery and implementation of B2B supply side management systems;
• Quality of merchandise, such as design aesthetics, high standards of
manufacturing quality and shipping products according to the order, and
• Customer service, incorporating speed and fairness of claims resolution and
cost of claims resolution.
Davis said the idea behind the criteria is to not only recognize firms for
what they do right but “how they respond when something goes wrong. Frequently,
this is their greatest opportunity to create legendary customer service
experiences. This includes asking, how do they respond to the end customer?
“We’re excited about the program,” Davis concluded, “and look forward to our
new, professional affiliation with Floor Covering News.” Due to the expanded
format and WFCA’s participation, Wahnon predicted “This year’s Award of
Excellence promises to be greater than ever. It is the one program in which
dealers, installers, distributors and designers get the right to say what they
think—without payments or inducements. Like a true election, they get to cast
their votes from the heart. That’s what makes it so meaningful.”
