Passion Trail Bikes of Belmont, CA has been named the quarterly recipient of the Park Tool Distinguished Service Award. Although they have been open for just one year, Charles Jalgunas and his staff have created an environment where service is designed to exceed expectations. He said "We go pretty far out of our way to provide the best possible service, and realize that if we do things perfectly, we will often hear nothing back from the customer until they have other, entirely different needs. So the Distinguished Service Award will mean a lot to our staff here."

One Passion Trail customesr, Stuart Latimerlo, described his experience: "They were clearly knowledgeable on suspension technology and were able to patiently describe to me the functionality of my forks in practical terms that really made sense. I learned about rebound, compression, stiction, and lockout, and more importantly they showed me exactly how these terms impact my ride and trail experiences. They then placed my bike on their trainer and proceeded to adjust the forks exactly to my specifications. I left feeling as if I had not only received reliable information, but I had made two new friends. Since that experience I have become a regular patron of Charles and Berry's indelible hospitality. And as a result, I've acquired something of a renewed and heightened sense of appreciation for quality customer service. This has also had a profound impact on my riding experiences. I enjoy it more and do it more often as a result."

When asked to describe their service advantage, Jalgunas said: "We put an extraordinary amount of effort into working with each customer to get them the best performance their bike can deliver, as they see it. When a customer comes in for service, we always make sure we get their bike in a stand in front of them and ask questions. We are likely to spend more time listening during a repair take-in than talking."

Park Tool Co. of Saint Paul. MN is recognized as the number one brand of bicycle tools in the world. They developed this international award to recognize shops that are dedicated to providing excellent repairs and service regardless of their size. "There were already a lot of awards for the biggest dealers", said Bill Armas of Park Tool. "We wanted to create an award that would put all shops on equal footing and recognize those that enhance the cycling experience of their customers." Dealers are nominated by their customers via letters or e-mail to the Park Tool website. If you would like to nominate your local shop, visit www.parktool.com for details.