Brodie Tyler, Author at Idaho's Best

Introducing Idaho’s Best Employer Awards

Brodie Tyler on September 9, 2021

We’ve been hard at work identifying and recognizing the best businesses and organizations in Idaho…according to your customers! But what would your employees say?

The hunt is on for Idaho’s Best Employers! We want to recognize the best workplaces in the Gem State, while also giving you the data to hone your recruitment and retention strategies.

Why now? We’ve been working on this project for a while, and we are happy to announce that it’s dialed in. Here’s a few reasons why we believe we have the best employer awards program in Idaho:

Efficiency
By focusing on only the essential and most indicative metrics, we were able to deliver fast surveys without compromises in quality data. An average user completes our survey in 5-6 minutes.
D.I.S.C. Profiling
Our surveys and reports utilize D.I.S.C. profiling, which are designed to help improve communication and cooperation in your workplace, boost the performance of teams, and improve the effectiveness of leaders and managers.
Anonymity
We’ll survey your employees anonymously, allowing them to provide genuine feedback and credible data. We protect their identity and report on data in aggregate.
Recruiting and Retention
Use your “Best Employer” status as a recruitment tool to attract great talent! Even if you didn’t make it to the top this year, you’ll have valuable data you can use to turn things around for next time.
Legitimate Results
From start to finish our Employer Awards program utilizes genuine experts to ensure we have genuine results. We’ve also put multiple safeguards in place to protect our data from attempts to manipulate surveys or results.

Sounds great! How do we get started?

I’m so glad you asked! Here’s a brief rundown of what to expect. If you’d like to dive straight into the details, check out our How It Works page.

Nominations and Registration 9/1/21-10/22/21
Nominations are open NOW, and can be made by nearly anyone — you can even nominate yourself. Registration needs to be completed by a representative of your organization, i.e. owners, executives, human resources.

Survey Period 10/1/21-10/31/21
We obtain the needed data through an efficient survey that is sent directly to each employee. You’ll need a specified minimum number of employees to complete the survey to qualify for the awards.

Announcing Finalists 11/15/21*
In November we’ll announce the organizations with the highest scores (in alphabetical order) as Idaho’s Best Employers for 2022.

Awards Ceremony 1/11/22
Join us in January when we announce the overall winners and the best in various categories. We’ll celebrate in traditional Idaho’s Best fashion, complete with a red carpet, professional photos, and a celebrity keynote speaker.

Reports 1/31/21*
Registered organizations will receive a Summary Report about what you’re doing right and what you could improve. If you upgrade to the Insights Report, you’ll receive extensive data, segmented results, all employee comments, and expert feedback.

Have questions about Idaho’s Best Employers? Check out our FAQ first, and contact us if you still have questions.

Call the Doctor That Dentists Call

Brodie Tyler on July 6, 2021

Best Oral Surgeon | Statewide Winner and Best of Treasure Valley

There are certain situations when you want the specialized skill of a professional, especially when it comes to your health.

I learned this lesson the hard way when my dentist at the time tried and utterly failed to remove all my wisdom teeth.

You see, two of them were impacted, meaning they were overcrowded and growing in at an angle. After an extended length of time in my mouth, the dentist threw in the towel and referred me to an oral surgeon to complete the job. I was left with a bleeding mouth, a swollen face, and a broken wisdom tooth.

More Than a Dentist

Let me be clear — this is not a knock against dentists! General dentists are seasoned professionals in dental hygiene, treating cavities, and teeth whitening (among other things).

But dental school was just the beginning for Dr. Jeremy Hixson. Oral surgeons like him go to medical school and residency for an additional total of five years beyond dental school. Surgical procedures that might be performed occasionally by a general dentist are routine for Dr. Hixson, who has years of additional training and experience in surgical procedures and anesthesia.

As the president of Idaho Oral Maxillofacial Surgeons and former chairman of the St. Alphonsus Hospital Department of Surgery Subspecialties, he is especially qualified in facial trauma, bone grafts, dental implants, and injury restoration.

In fact, when a star hockey player was badly injured during play, it was Dr. Hixson that the trauma center called for help. With teeth broken or missing and severe damage to the gums and jaw, this young athlete needed the skilled hands of an expert if he was ever going to be normal again.
Fortunately, Dr. Hixson was able to repair the injuries, fully restoring the athlete’s ability to speak, chew, and show off a pretty smile for the fans.

Dr. Hixson is Idaho’s Best Oral Surgeon

The team at Eagle Oral Surgery are also the go-to for procedures like dental implants, which are used for patients who are missing one or more teeth. Dental implants act as artificial tooth roots. The implants are usually made from titanium, screwed into the jawbone underneath the gums, serving as an anchor for restorations like crowns or bridges. If you’ve lost a tooth, or teeth, dental implants can restore your smile and your oral health permanently.

While Jeremy was teaching me the basics, he expressed concern about a recent trend he’s seen in the industry. Some establishments are offering too-good-to-be-true deals on dental implants, and are able to do so by substituting low quality materials for the restoration.

Done properly, dental implants should last a very long time. But when your restoration is completed with low-cost materials, they will likely only last a couple of years. He advises caution and encourages patients to ask questions and get a second opinion if necessary.

When other dentists or doctors have a tough case, they send their patients to Dr. Hixson. But you don’t have to wait for problems to arise to receive next-level care — get it right the first time by going to Eagle Oral Surgery & Implant Center.

Barbacoa’s (Unstoppable) Triple Crown

Brodie Tyler on June 21, 2021

Statewide Winner & Best of Treasure Valley — Steak | Fine Dining | Restaurant

Allow me to let you in on a little secret. The 36 or so categories that make up Dining in Idaho’s Best are some of the most competitive, with “Best Restaurant” likely being the hardest award to win in Idaho’s Best.

But Barbacoa makes it look easy with a repeat triple crown. For both 2021 and 2020, Barbacoa was the Treasure Valley and Statewide winner for Best Restaurant, Best Fine Dining, and Best Steak. In 2019, they were the winners for Best Fine Dining and Best Steak — we didn’t have a “Best Restaurant” category that year.

Barbacoa is Much More than Just Barbecue

“Barbacoa” is where the word “barbecue” comes from! Boise’s Barbacoa is so much more than simple meat and fire. The amazing creations of Chef Enrique Martinez are inspired by the best cowboy cooking that Latin America, Spain, and the Western U.S. have to offer. Barbacoa isn’t just the grandfather of American barbecue — it’s the future of it.

With so many great restaurants across Idaho, how does Barbacoa do it? You can’t be this successful without incredible food, but what makes Barbacoa special is the sensational experience that transcends taste! In fact, they promise that “all your senses will be touched and stimulated” — at least buy me dinner first!

When first-timers enter this enticing establishment, they may rub their eyes and wonder what magical rabbit hole they have fallen through, as it is unlike any other restaurant anywhere. Barbacoa is the creation of the Castoro family, and it is a restaurant, museum, and art gallery all rolled into one. Owner/artist Martine Castoro can be credited with the incredible visual impact of the restaurant, and a large portion of the design and art on display is her personal work.

Always eager to get insider information on great food, I asked manager Nikola Castoro for some tips on what to order. The crowd favorites include the “Hot Rock” filet — Barbacoa’s signature 10-ounce filet mignon with flamed cognac sauce — and made-at-your-table guacamole, rounded off with delicious icetinis (if you’re feeling fancy). For something different, Nikola suggests “When Pigs Fly,” an exquisite dish featuring pork and quail. Finally, for the rebels out there, he recommends the fish of the day to experience the latest chef-inspired creations from the kitchen.

The Most Winning-est Winner

By striving to do what’s possible and not simply what’s necessary and safe, Barbacoa has earned their Idaho’s Best triple crown. Only one question remains: Can they do it again next year? I’ll consider the odds of that while I savor a 27-ounce rib eye from their rooftop lounge this summer, but I wouldn’t bet against Barbacoa!

No Crystal Ball Required (But Cope Collision May Be)

Brodie Tyler on May 19, 2021

Rick and Sharon Cope — While other auto body shops have sold out to industry consolidation, the owners of Cope Collision have kept it in the family and in Meridian since 1963.

When I was a kid and our family’s new car was on the wrong end of a freak hailstorm, my father lamented that you’d have to have a crystal ball to know how much repairs would cost, when the work would be done, and if you were getting a quality repair or not. Cars are quite different now from when I was a kid. Back then they couldn’t talk (except for KITT from “Knight Rider”), and more often than not they were stick shifts.

Modern vehicles can be incredibly complex, which means that even a simple fender bender requires a skilled technician to restore your vehicle to like-new condition. As one example, with the introduction of the 2015 F-150, Ford engineers aimed to increase fuel economy by reducing the weight of the vehicle. They did this by replacing the steel in the bed and body panels with lighter aluminum.

While this results in significant improvements to efficiency, you can’t take your Ford to just any old body repair shop now. You must take your truck somewhere with the right equipment, training, and certification in aluminum-based Ford vehicles — somewhere like Cope Collision Center, voted Idaho’s Best Auto Body Shop two years in a row.

Though they are in a new, state-of-the-art facility, this shop has been family-owned and operated in Meridian since 1963. Chances are, when a company has been around for over half a century, they’re doing something right. And if you don’t have a Ford, that’s okay too.

Their team is I-Car Gold Class certified, the highest level of training in the industry, and they are factory certified by Acura, Chrysler, Dodge, Fiat, Ford, Honda, Jeep, Nissan, Subaru and more. That means whether it’s a scratch or a structural repair, they can return your vehicle to pre-loss, factory condition. To my surprise, repairs are much more than pushing a dent out, slapping some Bondo on, and painting it. They require researching manufacturer repair procedures, safety checks, computer scans, and calibrations to ensure all systems are functioning. Skip a step and your vehicle may not be repaired properly.

While it’s unfortunate when your vehicle gets banged up, you’ll never need a crystal ball to fix it. You just need Idaho’s Best Auto Body Shop.

Idaho’s Best of 2021 Awards

Brodie Tyler on February 15, 2021

That’s a wrap for Idaho’s Best of 2021! It was a tough road, but fortunately we were able to cap off this year’s awards with a great event to announce the winners. But first let’s take a quick refresher to see how we got here.

How Idaho’s Best Winners are Determined

Stage One – Nominations to Determine Which Businesses are on the Ballot
The 2021 season kicked off with a nomination period in October 2020. Every single business on the ballot got there because it was nominated by Idaho residents during this period. As most categories have dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of potential contestants, only those 15 businesses with the most nominations moved on to the voting round for each category.

Stage Two – Voting to Determine Finalists
After a short breather to verify our nominees, voting took place from November 30 to December 18, 2020. To obtain the most reliable results, participants were restricted to one vote per category. The top vote-getters in each region and the state overall progressed to stage three as bona fide finalists.

Stage Three – Reviews and Reputation to Determine Winners
As we say, “Votes make you a finalist, and reviews will make you a winner!” Scoring isn’t complete with just votes. We do a little math involving your reviews from the previous 12 months, which (simplified) looks like this:

Votes + (5-Star Reviews x Rating) = Score
*Votes and reviews are averaged for multi-location businesses

We also verify that each finalist is in good standing with the Better Business Bureau. Although it’s not considered in the final calculation, you cannot have a grade lower than a B. No grade is okay, but a bad one is not.

Idaho’s Best “Business Rally” … and the 2021 Awards

This year we faced an uphill battle (as most of you likely did as well). Despite the state of affairs, we polled you for your opinions on how exactly we should announce awards this year. An overwhelming 91 percent of those of you who responded indicated that you still wanted an in-person event, and we strived to meet that request.

After multiple venues falling through, loads of red tape, and some last-minute changes, we were able to host the Idaho’s Best Business Awards at the remarkable Chateau des Fleurs. Many of you made sacrifices so that more businesses could attend, such as switching nights, reducing your party size, or even sitting in the Grand Hallway. We thank all of you for your incredible support, particularly our sponsors, without whom this event would not have happened.

For those who attended, there were a few differences this year other than the venue and the masks. In order to hold the event at all, it needed to be religious or political in nature. After convincing Brodie that starting a new religion may not be the best direction to go, we decided we could make the political angle work. We were honored to have guest speakers to reinforce our theme for the night, which was a rallying cry for supporting Idaho’s many small businesses.

If this was your first year to attend, we thank you for coming and hope you don’t expect the same type of political event next year, because we are totally committed to going back to a fancy party that is focused on food, fun, and you.

View Your Idaho’s Best of 2021 Winners

How to Capitalize on Your Idaho’s Best Recognition

We jumped the gun on 2021 just so you can use the recognition of being Idaho’s Best for the whole year. All levels of winners receive digital resources that can be used to promote your new status and show off to your audience, building consumer confidence in your brand. We also have a few other tools that you can utilize for promotion.

Idaho’s Best Plaques

Proudly display your Idaho’s Best award with a high-quality 8″x10″ engraved plaque!

Idaho’s Best Magazine

Designed to be a coffee table type of publication that residents and businesses will hold on to and use as a reference guide, the magazine will give you and your company positive exposure throughout 2021.

Idaho’s Best Presents Your 2021 Finalists!

Brodie Tyler on January 5, 2021

After reviewing tens of thousands of votes cast for the 2021 Idaho’s Best nominees, we’re happy to announce the finalists for each category. Since voting ended on December 18th, we’ve been hard at work confirming the results.

This year, votes were cast with ballots secured through text message verification, and the finalists were vetted by the Better Business Bureau. We’re confident that these rock-solid results represent the best of Idaho businesses.

Votes + (5-star Reviews x Review Rating) = Final Score

Nominations

Votes

Reviews (← we are here)

When Will the Winners be Announced?

We’re almost there! While the top vote-getters move on as finalists, votes alone aren’t enough to take home the gold. We’re tabulating the number of 5-star reviews from the last 12 months and the ratings for each finalist. We expect to be able to announce the 2021 winners at the Idaho’s Best™ Awards Banquet (hopefully). We’re holding the banquet across two evenings in January or February in the Boise area, details to be announced soon.

Congratulations to all of our finalists for Idaho’s Best!

It’s Official – The BBB Thinks You’re All Just Great!

Brodie Tyler on January 5, 2021

What does it take to win Idaho’s Best? First, you need to have a business that people love. You need to have the marketing acumen to leverage that affection, transforming their positive energy into reviews. You also need their support garnering nominations and votes. All of that is to say that you need a great reputation to become a finalist for Idaho’s Best, and that’s why we’ve partnered with the Better Business Bureau.

The BBB is far from the new kid on the block when it comes to business reputation. Long before Yelp, Google My Business, or TripAdvisor got into the reputation game, the BBB had cemented their place in establishing marketplace trust. They have been the mediator and the muscle in resolving disputes between businesses and customers for over 100 years!

The BBB Northwest-Pacific Puts in Their Two Cents

We wanted to incorporate the BBB into our scoring and judging of the Idaho’s Best Awards. As of this writing, even we don’t know who the winners are yet, only our finalists. So we weren’t sure what would happen when we turned over our unofficial list of finalists to the BBB for vetting. But like a parent sending their first-born off to summer camp for the first time, we were hoping our baby would come back in one piece.

The BBB was tasked with reviewing our list of over 800 Idaho businesses and providing their grade for each one. The BBB rating system utilizes a grading scale just like you used in school, going from an A+ down to an F, graded on 17 different factors. This rating represents a business’s overall trustworthiness and their good-faith efforts to address customer concerns. Any businesses that didn’t have a passing grade are to be ineligible to win Idaho’s Best.

The BBB Gives the Idaho’s Best Finalists a Passing Grade

After a thorough review, 99 percent of our potential finalists had an “A” or “B” rating, with less than one percent failing to pass muster with a “C” or lower. That means that we’re rubber stamping that unofficial list of finalists and certifying them as OFFICIAL.

It makes sense to me that our BBB vetting standard results in such a minor impact on our list of finalists. Before getting to that point, a business first had to be nominated many times just to be a contender. They then had to receive enough votes to be competitive, and were then scored on the quality and quantity of their reviews. At that point, finalists have already proven they have a great reputation and that they deserve to be where they’re at.

Let this also be a reminder to keep an eye on your BBB page and be responsive if an issue comes up. The important take-away from reviewing every single one of your listings is that your responsiveness to an issue is what affects your grade the most, and complaints themselves and negative reviews on the Better Business Bureau not so much. It is yet another third-party check to ensure that only the best can be named Idaho’s Best.

Voting Closed for Idaho’s Best Awards of 2021

Brodie Tyler on December 21, 2020

That’s a wrap! Ballots for Idaho’s Best Awards of 2021 are in, and it looks to be a phenomenal success.

The businesses and attractions that were up for voting in their respective categories were nominated by Idaho residents in October. Those that received enough nominations to land in the top 10 earned their spots on the ballot.

Tens of thousands of votes were cast to show support for your favorite businesses and attractions in our community. We were overwhelmed with the enthusiastic response and can’t wait to share the finalists of each category.

Finalists will be announced after the holidays (ETA first week of January).

What Happens Now

We want the Idaho’s Best Awards to be as fair as possible, so our team is working hard to calculate the results and verify the findings. We use a combination of votes and reviews from Google to determine the winners — we even include ratings from the Better Business Bureau in our scoring!

Count Ballots

Who had the most votes? While technology makes counting easy, we still need to verify the results. Other contests permit spamming or daily voting. Idaho’s Best takes pride in our secure voting system to protect the integrity of your vote.

Count Reviews

Idaho’s Best isn’t like most “Best of” contests, which simply count votes. We realize that the community has already been showing their support for the “best” by leaving reviews all year long, so we’re going to count those too! We’re counting every 5-star review published on Google within the last 12 months.

Calculate Rating

While votes and reviews signify great work in the last year, overall ratings tell us how nominees have done long term. The mean rating from Google will be used in conjunction with 5-star reviews and votes to determine the winners.

Announce Finalists

The top 3 of each category will be publicly announced next month once we’ve verified our results. Finalists will also be notified by email as soon as possible.

Announce Winners

Typically, we announce the winners at our smashing Idaho’s Best Awards Banquet, but 2020 has been anything but typical. Like most of you, we’ve had to make some adjustments. But we’re still doing everything we can to have our event while complying with local health and safety regulations. We’ll announce our decision as soon as we can.

If the party is on, finalists will be invited to purchase tickets for the celebration. The banquet includes a red carpet entrance, a fancy dinner, photos, and other special prizes and opportunities.

If the party is not on, we’ll promptly be making other arrangements to announce the winners with as much pizazz as we are able!

Thank You

We’re grateful to everyone for the support and participation in the Idaho’s Best Awards. It’s been a lot of fun, and we’re already looking forward to next year’s contest!

Vote Now for the Idaho’s Best of 2021 Awards

Brodie Tyler on November 30, 2020

The Idaho’s Best™ Awards are back for another year to recognize the best businesses in the community. The contest includes nine divisions with 189 individual categories, and uses a combination of 5-star reviews, online ratings, and votes to determine the winners of each respective category.

Our nominees were selected by Idaho residents during October, and the top ten of each category are moving on to the voting round. Voting takes place online from November 30th through December 18th, 2020. Anyone with an Idaho zip code and mobile phone can vote. When voters register their ballots, a confirmation code will be sent via text message. Enter the code to finalize and submit your votes.

While you can only vote once for each category, feel free to come back during the voting period to support your favorites in the dozens of other categories available.

Don’t Miss the Hump Day Giveaway!

New this year, we’re doing a weekly voting contest and announcing a new winner each Wednesday. For every new voter you refer after registering your own ballot, you’ll be entered into a weekly drawing for a nice prize. We’ve got a new prize every week while voting is open, and they are fantastic.

Details about the Hump Day Giveaway are available on the voting page.

When Will We Know the Results?

After voting closes on December 18th, we’ll announce the finalists (the top 3 in each category) as soon as we have confirmed the votes and vetted our list with the BBB. But that’s not where it ends!

In addition to votes, the winner of each category is also determined by their online reviews from Google. Overall ratings and the number of 5-star reviews from the previous 12 months are counted. Our team will take a little time to confirm the review scores for each finalist and tally that with the vote total.

Once the votes and reviews have been tallied, we’ll announce the winners at the Idaho’s Best™ Awards Banquet first before publishing them online. We’re holding the banquet across two evenings on Jan. 26-27, 2021 in the Boise area, though we’ll keep you updated in case anything changes.
For more details about the 2021 Idaho’s Best™, see our 2021 details page.

Meet Your $500 Amazon Giveaway Winners

Brodie Tyler on November 23, 2020

Cha ching! The Idaho’s Best Awards of 2021 are underway, kicking off with nominations on October 16th. Thousands and thousands of nominations were made by Idaho residents showing their support for their favorite businesses.

Those of you that nominated 10 or more businesses were automatically entered into a drawing for a chance to win one of five $100 Amazon gift cards.

GIVEAWAY DETAILS: By entering this giveaway, entrants agree to these terms. Companies nominated by entrants are subject to approval by Inbound Systems to ensure the category is relevant to the company. Limited to one entry and one winner’s prize per person. To be eligible to win, entrants must live within Idaho and be at least 18 years old. Acceptance of a prize for this giveaway constitutes your approval to use your name, photo, and city for promoting Idaho’s Best™ and announcing the winners on our website. A minimum of five unique and valid entrants are required, otherwise, the giveaway will be cancelled with no prizes awarded. Employees and family members of employees of Inbound Systems and RevenueJump are not eligible to win. No purchase necessary. Void where prohibited.

After complying with the fine print, we’d like to present these lucky winners: