When I look at my own shopping and socialising habits, I return time and again to the shops, pubs and venues where someone, sometime, made that little bit of extra effort to make my experience more worthwhile.

Good customer service is unbelievably simple, but can make such a huge difference.

It doesn't need to be cheesy have a nice days and please come agains; just an honest willingness to be of help when needed.

I think we have that at Dales businesses and I think it's a great selling point for the area as a shopping destination.

Small things stick in the memory.

A quick lift with an extra bag, a joke about the football or a bit of friendly advice about an extra-special beer go a long way to making me want to return somewhere.

Like most people, I probably don't even think about it at the time, but it's such things that will keep people shopping local and town centres thriving through the credit crunch.

But, just as great service can bolster business, bad experiences do stick in the memory so it's so important to get it right.

There was a super-cheap supermarket next to where I lived as a student which we stopped going to despite our cash-flow problems, simply due to its employees' tendency to chuck products down the conveyor belt, avoiding all eye contact.

That's why I hope the Mercury's new Super Server Awards will put the spotlight on some of the fantastic local businesses, and the hard-working staff, which we have in this area.

And it might encourage a few of the more idiosyncratic traders to think about what they're missing out on.