Store of the Year for Motueka
Martin Dippie - Chairman of Board for Mitre 10 NZ, David, Maria, Rebecca, Bradley and Andrea Scown chief executive Mitre 10 NZ. Photo: Supplied.
ELISE VOLLWEILER
Next time you’re prompted about that survey link on your Mitre 10 receipt, know that your thoughtful feedback can count towards something rather special.
That customer survey was one of many considerations that have just earned Motueka Mitre 10 the Store of the Year award at the franchise’s annual Store Awards.
Store owner David Richards said that as the news spreads through the town, his crew is receiving “amazing positive comments from the customers, [who are] just very pleased for the team”.
The accolade was announced late last month at Mitre 10’s annual conference, held this year in San Francisco. The Motueka store was also a finalist for the two years prior.
Mitre 10 is locally owned and operated and is truly a family affair for the Richards family, with David’s wife Maria and two of their adult children all working in the store.
“We’ve got a great culture and small community within the store here,” David said.
“Our team members are like family to us.”
His passion for the franchise and his team was evident in his acceptance speech at the awards ceremony.
“We’ve been so blessed to be here as a winner,” he told the conference attendees, who hailed from the 83 Mitre 10 and Mitre 10 Mega stores across New Zealand.
Acknowledging his family, he said, “We truly love Mitre 10. We have some great discussions over dinner time, and I clearly get told some ways to improve.”
He laughed along with the crowd while assuring them that this feedback was a positive thing.
“That’s character-building. I’m here to listen.”
David’s final and emotional thank you was to his team.
“Our team is so special – they’re family to us, so this award goes to them.”
Before announcing the winner at the ceremony, Mitre 10 New Zealand’s chief executive Andrea Scown commended the top store’s customer service.
“From the moment a customer enters, they are made to feel welcome.”
She praised the store’s layout, and also spoke to the loyalty that was displayed towards its home town.
“The store is a big part of the community, with a desire to support as many local community groups and individuals as possible and represent the values of Mitre 10 at the highest level.”
After his return to Motueka, David said that he’d had been hopeful going into this year’s awards evening, as they were announced as one of four finalists earlier in the month, but to be confirmed as the winning store was “stunning”.
All stores are scored across seven measures, including team engagement, financial results, operational audits and those all-important customer surveys.
About 100 of these are filled out every week by Motueka’s customers, and the feedback goes directly to the store to be used as a springboard for positive change and to acknowledge the team members who had gone above and beyond.
David said that the Store Awards criteria were “fairly challenging” to achieve, and the team had them in mind all year round.
“You can’t achieve these criteria in just over a week or a month,” he said.
He said that Mitre 10 Motueka’s mission was to be a world-class hardware store.
“Our goal every day is to make a difference in our team and in our community.”
He wanted to give a “big shout out” to the store’s customers.
“This award is as much yours, as ours. You are the reason we do what we do. The Mitre 10 team really want to thank their local community for supporting them and shopping local.”