I named the award after an old Rodney Dangerfield routine; and yes, I am that old. He complained that no one ever appreciated him, and all he ever wanted was for someone to say, “Hey, Rodney” and give him the okay sign.
Our idea of this is a small, simple recognition that any team member can give to any other team member for doing a good job. Physically, it’s a 4 ¼” x 5 ½” three-part form that a team member gives out; giving a copy to the other member, a copy to me, and tacking a copy to the lunchroom wall for everyone to see. The giver checks off a reason at the top and writes a few sentences to give us all the details.
One-of-These recognitions can be given for things that are a big deal, such as Joe fixing a hot tub at someone’s house at 5:00 PM on Christmas Eve, or Patrick going to Hudson with no notice on his day off (in the middle of work for Pat’s Pool Service, his own small business) to patch a leaking pool. It has been awarded for displays of compassion and morality, especially for situations like when Mark noticed a woman in the store who seemed a bit disoriented. Guessing that she was diabetic; he offered her candy and soda, and remained with her until she recovered. These could be for everyday occurrences, like Steve finishing warehouse cleaning early so he can help the teenagers clean the store before they go home, or the other Steve working in the rain to get the display pools opened before he goes back to college.
Mostly, it’s the little things; the “thank you” and admiration for a hard job done well that adds up on a daily basis. It’s the oil that lubricates the teamwork you see everyday here. It’s a big reason why we all seem to enjoy each other.
In an average month, we could have 40-50 of them tacked up on the lunchroom wall. A big month is 70-80!
At the end of the month, I’ll take time at team meeting to announce how many awards people received, read the best ones, and award my favorite a gift certificate to a local restaurant. Then the remainder all go into a drawing for someone to win another gift certificate.
Notice that these are not management-to-employee awards, they are truly peer-to-peer awards. They are my single favorite part of our entire company. It’s not the idea, the look, the awards ceremony, or the gift certificates that I love. It’s the way that our team members use them to honor their fellow team members for doing a great job. It’s not about the gift certificate winners. It’s about reading 50 or 60 of them at once; towards the end of the month. It’s not even necessarily about who’s receiving them. Sometimes gratifying to see who’s giving them.
That being said, we do keep a list of recent certificate winners next to register one, and listed below. If you really want to know what it’s all about, though, ask us to let you into the lunchroom (if it’s not lunchtime) to read them up on the wall.
2018 Winners
| Month | Owner’s Choice | Drawing Winner |
| January | Ryan N. | Ryan N. |
| February | Ryan N. | Mia H. |
| March | Patrick M. | Kristine B. |
| April | Kristine B. | Ryan N. |
| May | Erica C. | Erica C. |
| June | Thomas S. | Ally R. |
| July | Paul M. | Sean P. |
| August | Andrew S. | Steve B. |
| September | Cheryl S. | Joe G. |
| October | Tod B. | Kristine B. |
| November | Kristine B. | Kristine B. |
| December | Cheryl S. | Ally R. |
“We felt extremely comfortable due to no pushy salespeople. All questions were answered and Mimi spent as much time with us as we needed. We declined shopping around because of this.”
Anonymous
“Thanks for your service and smiles. Quality and reputation does a business make but mostly it’s the people who sell the wares. Obviously, you know this.”
Pam
