Ace praised by Entrepreneur

An article in Entrepreneur Magazine has Ace Hardware playing with the big leagues of customer service.

The co-op was on the magazine's list of six companies that are boosting growth via excellent customer satisfaction tactics.

"As larger, low-margin stores push many small-scale retailers out of business, Ace Hardware has remained strong," said the news source. "The reason, its leaders say, is that employees are trained to not just be nice, but helpful. Staff go through extensive training not just about the products and services sold in stores, but also about types of customers they’ll encounter and how to help each one. According to company policy, staff can’t say “No,” without a manager’s approval."

Other companies on the list: JetBlue, Rackspace, Drybar, Southwest Airlines and When I Work.