How many times has a company’s customer service come in clutch on a project? What about dealer programs? Or tech support? These were likely some of the questions integrators were thinking when voting for the winners in the distributor category in CE Pro’s 2024 Quest for Quality awards.
We received nearly 9,000 votes from more than 900 integrator participants in our survey conducted from late January to mid-February. The tally in votes was down from recent years, but voters averaged nearly 10 responses apiece for a survey that can take some time to complete.
Winning companies in platinum, gold, silver, and kudos were asked to provide commentary on what differentiates their service in a particular category, while other comments come verbatim from CE Pro’s readership.
Congratulations to this year’s honorees, and be sure to spread some cheer to the manufacturers that won out the year as well.
2024 Quest for Quality Award Winners: Distributors
Customer Service/ General Communication
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Snap One customer service is indescribable. If there is an issue with any of the brands, they step up and take care of the problem on the spot. —Reader comment
Our team prides itself on building trusted relationships with dealers that go beyond simply providing products. We want to be there when they need help with system design, installation questions, technical support, and sales ideas. Ultimately, our goal is to help them build their business with support in all facets where they may need assistance. With over 200 years of combined experience in the industry, dealers know they can call DOW and speak to someone who knows the business. —John Yodzis, President & CEO
PowerHouse Members see themselves as a seamless extension of their customer’s businesses, so to be recognized by the 2024 Quest for Quality Awards in the category of customer service and communication is a high honor. We work hard to be that local resource dealers can count on. There is something different about being able to walk into your local distributor and talk to people living in that area about your needs, versus just placing orders online. While our members offer that option too, we know some of the best support and conversations happen in person. From monthly product specials to rewards programs, we always strive to make sure our customers feel valued. —Dennis Holzer, Executive Director
Dealer Program/Incentives
Platinum: Snap One
Snap One always finds a way to make things right despite the current climate of the industry. —Reader comment
Gold: DOW Technologies
What makes our programs and incentives unique is that we offer them to every dealer. We offer incentive rebate programs every dealer can participate in, no pressure to hit spending targets. Our philosophy of offering the best price the first time means more profit now, no need to wait for money back. In addition, our marketing team offers free support to all active customers, making sure dealers are branded in a way they can be proud of. Our goal is to make doing business easy. With a price match guarantee, simple free shipping program, best price upfront, and free marketing support, we believe DOW can be a great partner for dealers. —John Yodzis, President & CEO
WAVE Electronics wanted to take the guess work and complication out of the dealer rebate program in distribution. Most programs are confusing, have lofty minimum purchase amounts, and delayed payouts. We created a program for our dealers that eliminates all three of those hurdles. The WAVE Premier Card Program has no minimums, is simple to understand, and pays out weekly on a pre-paid Mastercard (or account credit, if preferred). It allows our dealers to use that Mastercard to purchase anything that they would like, while continuing to earn weekly. The Premier Card Program allows our dealers to earn up to 7% back on their everyday purchases from over 35 vendors. Our dealers absolutely love the new program and can’t get over how easy it is to earn funds back! —Donnie McVicker, Sr. Director of Sales
RMR Support Programs
Platinum: DOW Technologies
DOW offers dealers a variety of options for recurring monthly revenue through our partnerships with leaders in complementary business segments. Dealers can choose sales only or full sales and installation models based on what fits their business. Commercial focused dealers can offer industry leading UCaaS solutions to upgrade their customers to best in class communications service. Internet and backup internet solutions are available for even the most remote locations. Talk to a DOW account manager to learn more about our great recurring revenue opportunities. —John Yodzis, President & CEO
Gold: Snap One
Snap One provided assistance with securing a project. —Reader comment
Silver: WAVE Electronics
WAVE has always focused on finding unique ways to support our dealers with an RMR business model. As the industry has evolved, so has our breadth of support for those dealers. We have a completely in-house DIFM Program/Process team that provides an end-to-end support system for our dealers. The team will support all aspects including the designing of customized packaging, pre-programming of products, and complete logistics planning to get the product to the end user or job site on their behalf. This allows our dealers to streamline and enhance their own operations and have an opportunity to sell and service more contracts through this model.
If you don’t need a full DIFM solution, we have that as well. Our dealer programming services team can pre-program a system and ship it to the dealer in order to rapidly improve installation times. While we are doing the programming for this system, we can also brand the products to grow the dealer’s brand presence. All these benefits give our dealers more valuable time on the job site and more opportunities to sell, increasing their chances for additional RMR opportunities. —Donnie McVicker, Sr. Director of Sales
Shipping Policies
Platinum: Snap One
Snap One continues to set the bar when it comes to service, overall delivery of products and backup support. —Reader comment
Gold: PowerHouse Alliance
The number of PowerHouse locations nationwide is an important factor to consider when talking about shipping policies, because of our scale we are able to meet the needs of dealers in every region. Over the years we have found giving dealers a variety of flexible shipping and will call options provides them with the ability to manage their costs and inventory more effectively. Across our locations PowerHouse members offer free freight, same day delivery, 24-hour will call, and more. —Dennis Holzer, Executive Director
Silver: DOW Technologies
Our Smart Services freight policy continues to be a great benefit to dealers; one low monthly price gets a dealer free delivery on every order. With the included courier service, dealers have a stress-free option when they have a same day need, saving time and money. Smart Service members also receive credits on account to offset freight for defective product returns, ensuring dealers keep their profit margins even when they encounter an unexpected issue. With all of these benefits, it’s the easiest option for dealers to get everything they need. —John Yodzis, President & CEO
Supply Chain
Platinum: Snap One
Snap One stayed in stock to help integrators stay in business. They helped me get as much as I can at a given time and they always kept me in the loop as to inventory. —Reader comment
Gold: DOW Technologies
Our team has done a great job with vendor communication to understand their inventory and shipping times while monitoring our inventory movement to ensure we are consistently stocked with the right products in the right locations. When issues are identified, we ensure that dealers have a selection of comparable products from our wide lineup of vendors. Our goal is to always have product solutions to ensure dealers can complete their installations on a timely and profitable basis. —John Yodzis, President & CEO
Silver: PowerHouse Alliance
PowerHouse prides itself on offering dealers the power of national distribution with a local touch, how our members have navigated the last several years of supply shortages shows just how true we are to that tagline. Not only have we continued to add new lines to be able to offer dealers more tier one vendor options when their first-choice product isn’t available, our members have a built-in network they can reach out to for product that is essential to getting a dealer’s job done and dealers benefit from this network by extension. —Dennis Holzer, Executive Director
Technical Support
Platinum: Snap One
Just make a phone call to Snap One, and you’ll understand within 5 seconds. —Reader comment
Future Ready Solutions is always ready and willing to assist on any issue whether it’s billing/invoicing/shipping or for product/installation/troubleshooting. Always very friendly and just in general best overall in service and knowledge. —Reader comment
We attribute our success in technical support to a unique blend of expertise, responsiveness, personalized solutions, and a commitment to customer satisfaction. What distinguishes Blackwire is not only our ability to resolve technical challenges at any time, within a single call or chat, but also our profound understanding of smart home and commercial automation ecosystems. Our dedicated team undergoes in-depth internal training, ensuring they are proficient in supporting installers and integrators from initial system design to troubleshooting. This expertise allows Blackwire to provide insights beyond our competition, thereby enhancing our customers’ system functionality and efficiency.
Moreover, our commitment to innovation is evident in continually updating our knowledge base and training programs with the latest technologies. This proactive stance ensures our support staff is well-prepared for emerging technologies, establishing Blackwire as not only a leader in technical support but also a trusted industry partner. Overall, this accolade reflects our company’s relentless pursuit toward customer satisfaction, personalized service, and commitment to staying ahead of technological advancements. —Cody Crossland, Vice President Sales and Marketing
Training Programs
Platinum: PowerHouse Alliance
We could not be more proud to be chosen as the platinum winner for training programs, offering dealers the training and skills development they need to be successful is at the core of our mission. We know that helping build a pipeline of talent is what will keep this industry growing for years to come. What sets PowerHouse apart in this category is two-fold, volume and variety. With over 65 locations nationwide we have made training more accessible for dealers without heavy travel time needed. PowerHouse members are also able to offer training that is fresh, timely and relevant thanks to our partnerships with vendors representing over 250 product lines. Not a week goes by without one of our members offering a no charge training program at one of their locations or hosted conveniently online. —Dennis Holzer, Executive Director
ADI offers numerous learning opportunities throughout the year to help keep customers updated on the latest technology – including our ADI Expo Series, online webinars, branch events, and more. For 2024, we’ve revamped our Expos to enhance the value customers gain from these one-day events. With a digital-first and modernized Expo experience, attendees can tailor their day to maximize the benefits gained from the event.” -Cynthia Menna, Vice President & General Manager of AV, ADI Global Distribution
Silver: Snap One
Best-in-class education and support. —Reader comment
Website
Platinum: Snap One
Snap One gave me more locations to pull from. —Reader comment
Gold: WAVE Electronics
This award is a true testament to the growth of WAVE’s understanding of our partners and their needs in the digital space. Our commitment to dealers and vendors is to provide the best-in-class Digital Commerce journey through a personalized, interactive, and self-service online experience. We will continue to push the limits as we redefine what is the best Digital Experience in the industry. —Chris Collier, Digital Operations
Silver: ADI
As part of our strategy, we’re committed to delivering the leading omnichannel experience for customers and our website is at the center of that. We’ve committed substantial resources to enhancing the online shopping journey at ADI – and we’re just getting started. After implementing a new Product Information Management (PIM) system, our team has worked diligently on a multitude of improvements to the site including expanding our online product offering, refining search capabilities, optimizing website speed, and more.” -Cynthia Menna, Vice President & General Manager of AV, ADI Global Distribution
Distributor Kudos
AlarMax is truly differentiated by its people. Across all our branches nationwide, we’re proud to provide exceptional service to our community while supporting the vendors that bring the most innovative, high-quality solutions to dealers and end users. AlarMax’s exceptional service is distinguished by the invaluable expertise of its seasoned business leaders — many of whom have dedicated decades to the growth and success of the company and the industry. AlarMax collaborates with dealers to provide full support for their success, offering a range of advanced technologies and instilling trust in the team to help manage the complexities of their business. —Randy Hall, President
Progressive Distribution utilizes an inside, and outside sales staff making, as well as multiple warehouses nationwide making it a seamless process for customers to utilize the team, and receive quality product and assistance in a timely manner. —Reader comment
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