Austin Canoe and Kayak (ACK), a division of Summit Sports LLC, received the Bizrate Circle of Excellence award for the eighth year in a row.

The Texas retailer was also awarded the Platinum Circle Of Excellence award for the second year in a row. Out of more than 3,500 retailers in Bizrate’s North American Retailer Network, those earning the Bizrate Circle of Excellence Award represent the top 5.8 percent in 2016. Platinum award recipients received customer rating scores significantly higher than the Network average, with scores 9 or above on a 10 scale across all seven key satisfaction indicators.

The key satisfaction indicators measured for award eligibility are immediately post purchase metrics (Overall Satisfaction, Product Selection, and Ease of Finding) and after order receipt metrics (Likelihood to Buy Again, Product Met Expectations, On-Time Delivery, and Satisfaction with Customer Support).

“Receiving Platinum for the second year in the context of eight consecutive years of the Bizrate Award is something special,” said Peter Messana, Summit Sports LLC CEO. “We’ve worked hard to maintain an exceptional level of customer service and this award is a testament to all of the passionate ACK employees that make that possible.”

Ray Luckadoo, VP of operations, added, “It is incredibly rewarding to hear that our customers pay us such high compliments. We strive every day to exceed their expectations, so it means a lot to see that the effort is acknowledged.”

The Bizrate Circle of Excellence recognizes those online retailers that have provided outstanding online customer experiences throughout the award period, August 1, 2015 through July 31, 2016. This year, only 97 companies received the Platinum Award, representing 2.7 percent of Bizrate’s North American Retailer Network.

ACK operates five physical Texas locations in Austin, San Marcos, Spring, Houston, and San Antonio in addition to its e-commerce store at austinkayak.com. ACK is a division of Summit Sports LLC, which owns and operates a number of outdoor action e-commerce sites, including ack.com, skis.com, snowboards.com and inlineskates.com, along with nine physical stores in Michigan and Texas.