The HyVee company is well known in the grocery store industry. Starting in 1930 in a small town in Iowa, the company has emerged as an employee-owned supermarket chain with over 285 locations, 91,000 employees and an annual revenue of over $12 billion in sales. The store is known for helpful, courteous employees and customer satisfaction. Hy-Vee's longtime advertising slogan, "Where there's a helpful smile in every aisle", was adopted for the chain's first television commercial in 1963.
The HyVee company began recognizing long time employees with the Legendary Customer Service Award in 1997 by installing wraps on their semi-trailers with pictures of exemplary individual employees. Every year employees are nominated and chosen for the honor of representing the standards that has made the company loved by customers over the years. The qualifications are what the company has based its success on since 1930. The submissions can be made by co-workers, family and friends. The recipients of this award never know of their selection until a surprise presentation is held at store level with family, friends and co-workers all in attendance as well as members of the corporate office.
The Hy-Vee fundamentals are as follows; honesty, dignity, integrity, morals, dedication ethics, fairness, respect, caring, manners, sincerity, ownership and friendliness. So based on these fundamentals customers can submit recommendations at store level or at Hy-Vee.com
John Hazuka, a pharmacy delivery driver at the Kasson Hy-Vee, and Bryant Meyer, a bakery cake designer at the Circle Drive Hy-Vee in Rochester, both received the 2025 award. The award recognizes workers who provide service that exceeds customers' expectations.
Hazuka's picture was unveiled Monday morning during a celebration outside the Rochester North Hy-Vee, where he worked for more than 25 years, mostly as a produce clerk. He has worked for Hy-Vee since 1990 in a variety of roles.
"Taking the deliveries out and making contact with some of those senior citizens who might not get a lot of contact, just to bring a little smile to their day, makes it all worth it," Hazuka said. "That's what our company is built on."
Meyer's picture was also unveiled Monday morning during a celebration outside the Circle Drive Hy-Vee. He has worked for Hy-Vee since 2009 and said he still loves his work because of the variety and the opportunity to push his creativity.
"I get to do something different every day," Meyer said. "Every order is different, every customer has different needs. Just being able to be part of all that and make something new every time is just kind of fun."
John Hazuka summarized his feelings for receiving the Legendary Customer Service Award. “It truly is a great honor as it is our companies highest award. It’s also a tremendous responsibility, I feel, to represent our company in this way and to hopefully inspire the workforce of the next generation.”
