Ace earns Pinnacle award, employee honored

< is one of the best stores in America, and by far one of the highest volume stores in the state and America,” said John Venhuizen, president and CEO of Ace Hardware Corporation, who visited the store Wednesday. “Pinnacle performance means he is the elite at ACE.”

Developed as part of Ace’s long-term retail growth strategy, 20/20 Vision, Pinnacle Performance Retailing is on Ace’s customers, helping to ensure that Ace stores deliver on its brand promise day in and day out. The team at Maricopa Ace Hardware is one of only 366 Ace retailers to achieve this prestigious Pinnacle status in 2014. To achieve the Pinnacle award, the team at Maricopa Ace successfully completed eight performance drivers that will help them provide a better overall shopping experience.

“Our success in Maricopa is attributed to Maricopa,” Mike Richey said. “Maricopa has really embraced ACE Hardware, and we try to embrace them right back. We support the community, and that’s the key to our success.”

One example of a proven performance driver is “Helpful Certification,” the foundational element of Ace’s “Certified Ace Helpful” retail training curriculum. To become certified, Ace Hardware associates complete courses such as Helpful 101 and 20,1 and the store conducts a week-long team-based certification event.

“For a store to achieve Pinnacle Performance Retailing is an outstanding accomplishment,” said Venhuizen said. “We’re pleased to recognize Maricopa Ace and its associates for their outstanding achievements, and proud to say they’re a part of the Ace family.”
 

A special individual award for a special employee was also presented Wednesday. Longtime Maricopa store associate Paul Rouse received a Moment of Truth certificate, which was given to him by Venhuizen.

***ADVERTISEMENT***The commendation came from an interaction with a regular customer named Steve, who did not know Rouse personally.

“I loaned a gentleman $140 to pay his bill,” Rouse said. “He forgot his wallet and lived about 10 miles out, so I offered to give him the money. I did it just because it was something to do for a gentleman who needed help, and I just wanted to help. I didn’t expect anything from it.”

“Steve was so overjoyed with Paul’s service and kindness that he wrote to us at Ace Corporate to let us know,” Venhuizen said. “This is precisely the kind of service that the Moment of Truth award was designed to recognize.”