2007 ABF President’s Quality Awards spotlight ‘Best of the Best’

ABF Freight System’s customer service centers in Carlisle, Penn., Wheeling, Ill., and Amarillo and Austin, Texas, recently earned distinction as the “Best of the Best” by winning the company’s President’s Quality Award. Presented annually by ABF, the Quality Award is the highest internal recognition available to ABF customer service centers. The award honors facilities exemplifying the ABF Quality Process.

All ABF customer service centers undergo extensive evaluations, including a nomination process, a quality awareness survey, an onsite validation audit and scrutiny by the ABF Quality Implementation Committee. The comprehensive process gauges resource management, damage/loss prevention, customer satisfaction and other key performance indicators. Finalists are reviewed by ABF President and Chief Executive Officer Bob Davidson, who selects the winners.

“The versatility, attention to detail, and conscientious approach of our employees enable ABF to continue to be the benchmark for customer service in the transportation industry,” says Davidson. “In particular, the performances in Carlisle, Amarillo, Austin and Wheeling demonstrate the benefits of choosing a carrier whose employees are both motivated to excel and empowered to succeed.”

This is the sixth Quality Award won by the Carlisle service center. Amarillo is a two-time winner. This is the first Quality Award for both Austin and Wheeling. Davidson presented the award in Wheeling on May 3, and is scheduled to visit Austin and Amarillo on June 6, and Carlisle on June 7. Each facility receives a permanent plaque and a traveling Quality Cup in a ceremony attended by the ABF Quality Implementation Committee, local employees and special guests.

“The ABF Quality Process identifies areas of nonconformance and establishes procedures for correcting and eliminating problems,” says Joe Davis, director of quality awareness for Fort Smith, Ark.-based ABF. “The levels of performance throughout the ABF system have moved higher each year since we institutionalized quality as a process 23 years ago.”