The Butler County Tourism & Convention Bureau is introducing a program to recognize those who provide exceptional customer service at their places of employment.

The “Butler County Service Excellence Award,” or BCSEA, has been developed to highlight the efforts of customer-minded employees to encourage a countywide environment of customer-centric service and recognition for good work.

The idea came to Jack Cohen, bureau president, at a gas station when he witnessed something that inspired him.

“What brought it to my attention was a lady that pumped gas,” he said. “She pumped my gas and, do you believe it, she cleaned my windows ... I haven’t seen that since the ’60s.”

Cohen said that act of going beyond what was expected inspired him to find a way to recognize others for similar dedication.

Cohen and the bureau then set out to make the award a reality.

The groundwork is primarily meted out by a network of “secret shoppers” armed with the funds necessary to patronize shops across the county and pins that are given to those deemed dedicated to customer service.

“We have 10 secret shoppers,” Cohen said. “We gave them enough for 15 each.”

These secret shoppers, these agents of encouragement, have been hard at work, already having awarded 20 people pins over the last few months.

“One of the ladies cried when we gave her an award,” Cohen said. She had never been given as much as a compliment before that day.

“There’s a lot of bad news right now, and we want to share the good things that people are doing right in our backyard,” Cohen said.

“We’re lucky to live in such a wonderful community where people care about each other. Let’s share that story of great things and great people,”

Cohen hopes the award can encourage the people of Butler County despite the negativity that so often permeates daily life.

“We should always talk about great things,” he said. “We’ll share all the names again and again and again.”

While many will receive pins and be recognized for their accomplishments and hard work, the bureau will choose one out of the many to win a prize at the bureau’s general membership meeting in late November.

Cohen did not disclose what that prize will be, but he promises that it will be a “big” one.

There will be two winners each year, one in the spring and one in the fall.

The bureau will be posting each of the nominees on its Facebook page and sharing the names with local media.

Nominations are also available on the bureau’s Website at www.visitbutlercounty.com.