This year marks the 10th anniversary of Footwear Insight’s Gold Medal Service Awards. The 10-year anniversary is said to be a sign of “durability,” and we believe that is also an appropriate word to use for all of the retailers being honored on this year’s list. Durable enough to handle whatever comes their way and to continue to deliver outstanding customer service each and every day.

Honoring the nation’s top independent footwear retailers with the Gold Medal Service Award for Outstanding Customer Service is something we’ve taken pride in doing for a decade at Footwear Insight. This year we have two stores tied at the top of the list as the highest scoring stores of the year — Wesley’s Shoes of Chicago, Illinois and Boger’s Shoes of Orange Park, Florida.

Both Wesley’s and Boger’s had better than perfect scores (105 out of 100, with bonus points.) They both have great (and enduring) stories to tell.

This year, 91 stores have earned a spot on our Gold Medal list. Eighteen scored 100 or above! (See the full list of 2024 Gold Medal Service Award winning retailers.)

In order to earn a spot on Footwear Insight’s Gold Medal Service Award list, stores are screened and then “mystery shopped,” with only those earning a score of 70 or above making the Gold Medal list. See the criteria for our mystery shoppers online at goldmedalserviceawards.com.

We asked several of this year’s Gold Medal-winning retailers to tell us about their customer service philosophies, and how they continue to deliver great service amidst so many retail challenges. Read their answers here. (And stay tuned to hear even more of what they have to say in our follow-up January/February issue as well.)

So, here’s to all the honorees! Congratulations.