"It's awesome."
That's how Surplus Furniture and Mattress Warehouse Manager Mike Kuehl describes winning the 2012 Burnside Business of the Year Award in the Retail and Service category. And the word just kept cropping up as he talked about winning the Burnie.
Kuehl was unable to attend the Burnie award ceremony held in September at the Burnside Park Place Ramada due to a prior commitment involving his district manager, other store managers and the company's president. His assistant manager, Derek Stewart, attended and he texted the good news to Kuehl and their district manager while they were in conference.
"Just before it was my turn to report during this conference call, my district manager interrupts and says, 'I just want to congratulate you and your staff Mike for winning the Burnside Business of the Year Award.' The news was awesome. The timing was awesome. The company president complimented us on a great job. We looked good and my staff deserve that kind of recognition.
"They work hard, on average 48 hours a week, and they had been hoping to win every since we were nominated," he adds.
Surplus Furniture is a Canadian discount furniture warehouse located at 21 Akerley Blvd., that specializes in locating quality, brand name furnishings at rock bottom prices and than passing the savings onto customers by simply purchasing direct from the manufacturers. The store offers same day delivery on in-stock items, and customers can take advantage of a 100 per cent free layaway plan.
The Burnie Awards are based on customer voting, either by paper ballot on location or online. Kuehl says he doesn't even know who nominated them, but he's very grateful for the nomination and for the support his customers demonstrated via the voting process.
"Our customers are number one for us and it's just awesome that they feel the same way about us," he says. "Everything we do – from the warehouse environment, which keeps costs down, to the cranked-up tunes that up the fun factor – is about making our customers enjoy their experience with us."
