April 19th, 2022
Last month at the Textile Rental Services Association (TRSA) Annual Awards banquet held in Alexandria, VA, Rick Woods of Gurtler Industries was awarded their 2022 Above and Beyond Service Award. The award is voted by TRSA peers and honors those who provide exceptional attention to customer needs, who set a high standard for others to follow.
As part of Gurtler Industries ISO Quality Management program, we survey our customers every year to evaluate the quality of our products, delivery, and service. Over the last six years Gurtler’s quality performance ratings from our customers have steadily improved. Although our performance has always been superior, over the last few years Gurtler has improved to an overall rating of 95.2 (out of 100), or an A+ grade. We are especially proud of our almost perfect Service Quality rating of 98.4 from our customers.
Rick Woods, who manages Gurtler’s Midwest & Mountain West regions, stands out among the “Best of the Best” as one who provides service above and beyond expectations, consistently earning ratings of 100 from his customers. Here are a few quotes from his customers:
Jenn Johnson, Tucson Medical Center: Rick is such a genuine human! I enjoy talking to him every time he comes in. I can always count on him. Several times I have called him when I am out of town, and he will call my staff on duty to help walk them through an issue. He’s pretty great!
Jake Olah, Excel Linen, Kansas City: Rick is my top best Vendor. Rick has showed me so much over my years. Excel follows Rick not the chemical supplier. Several times I have called Rick with a serious issue he has been in Texas or wherever he might be. Rick would drive all night long and be here for Excel next day 5 am ready to dig in and assist. Rick is the GOAT for me, Greatest Of All Time! Rick Woods will always forever be a true hero in this industry. He is the definition of “whatever it takes.”
Michel Whittet, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Textile Operations Manager, New Mexico VA Health Care System: Rick Woods has gone beyond any expectation to aid in my facility servicing the veterans of two Veterans Affairs Medical Centers in New Mexico and West Texas. Rick does not hesitate to take my calls when I have questions and works towards solutions when issues arise. When Rick is onsite for his regular service calls, he insures all of the points in the chemical delivery system are in top condition. We are just completing the installation of replacement washers and as expected, things have not gone smoothly on our end. While our Engineering Department did not have the washers ready for Rick’s slotted time to program and test the washers, Rick adjusted his schedule a much as possible to not affect the next customer in Phoenix…I know Rick will do everything he can to assist me if there are any chemical or programming issues that come up that would have been addressed had we been able test the washers.
Michael Lutz, American Linen Supply of NM: His unwavering support for the industry and for Gurtler as a company is beyond compare in the industry. I have had many competitors over the years try to sway my decision on who we use, and I always tell them, unless you have Rick Woods, you'll never have my business. Specifically, this last year he and I were discussing Hygienically Clean Certification and he took it upon himself to grab samples while testing to send the products to a lab for testing to make sure we were all good in that arena. We passed with flying colors. I've never had a rep with a higher level of commitment and interaction with our teams.
Besides serving our customers, Rick is responsible for training and managing his team in the Midwest and Mountain regions. He is instilling his commitment to service excellence in his entire team. Congratulations to Rick for this recognition. It is well deserved!