Certified Counter
Specialist Program
Why and What’s Involved
Certified Counter Specialist Program
¾ To recognize the professionalism and
technical expertise of the men and
women employed at the wholesale
counter.
What’s Certification?
¾ A process
¾Recognizes qualifications and experience
¾Measures knowledge
¾Confirms certification
Why HARDI Recognition?
¾HARDI is the single voice representing the
interests of wholesale-distribution in the
HVACR industry.
¾HARDI members employ over 6,800
counter and inside sales personnel.
Origins of the HARDI Program
¾Market Center Distribution
¾ James Truesdell
¾ Trained personnel are fundamental to the
success of the wholesale-distribution
business
OBJECTIVES
¾ To establish industry recognized
standards.
¾ To encourage training and education.
¾ To demonstrate the importance of Market
Center Distribution.
¾ To increase awareness of entry level
counter sales positions.
What’s in it for the
counter person???
¾ Industry recognized credentials
¾ Advancement in career
¾ Opportunity for financial gain
¾ Increased customer respect and dependency
And … what’s in it for the
wholesale company??
¾ Opportunity to place a test proven professional
at the counter
¾ Drive down costs by processing fewer returns
¾ Reduce warranty expenses
¾ Decrease customer wait time
¾ Reduction in customer’s unapplied labor cost
¾ Produces greater customer dependency and
repeat business
¾ Increased job satisfaction leads to reduced
employee turnover
Product Knowledge
Customer Knowledge
Raising the Level of
Customer Satisfaction
The Bottom Line
¾ $291.00 per order
vs.
¾ $357.00 per order
Four Level Recognition
¾ Counter Assistant
(just starting)
¾ Counter Associate
¾ Senior Associate
¾ HARDI Certified
(the highest achievement)
What’s the criteria for each level?
Counter Specialist --
Assistant
¾ Employed at least 6 months in wholesale-distribution.
¾ Completed core competencies (Business Operations, Print/Electronic Catalog Skills
and Inventory Management) Competencies are clusters of re