If you're anything like me, you've never attempted to purchase a trophy or award for anybody, ever. I've received my share of corporate plaques and chintzy monuments honoring record profit margins and undying enslavement to some promotion-of-the-moment, my cubicle walls gasping for breath, my company loyalty breaking bad with each earnings memo boasting quarterly gains surpassing the highest projections imaginable while I, just another worker bee, spent another year pounding away without a raise even though my annual reviews consistently scored above average, if not exceeding expectations. Do I have issues? Damn right I do. I wish some adult would've had the foresight to tell me as a kid that trophies would represent altogether abstract victories when I grew up, so I could treasure our little league baseball championships that much more deeply. All of these thoughts and emotions swirled around my head while I looked over the bevy of awards, medals, placards and golden trophies jam-packed along the walls of A-1. The danger in awarding someone an object, it seems to me, is in the weight of the success the object represents. So the craftsman better be good. I'd surmise that the owner of A-1, who was very friendly and approachable, has made his share of mistakes over the years. Imagine crafting some grand award and noticing afterwards that you misspelled the owner's name during the engraving, costing you all of that effort and time and material. I noted a hardened aspect to his personality, like he'd been there and done that too many times, crafting an expert. I don't know about you, but I like spending my money on experts. A-1 has a wide selection of products to honor any occasion or personality, and if they don't carry it, they'll order it from the web pronto. My modest trophy, a medal, was a fantastic deal, less than $15. It was ready in about four days which was crucial, as the ceremony was fast approaching. Another solid local find on Yelp. Be wary: you might find yourself talk talk talkin' away in this shop. read more

I came to lovely Albuquerque for a conference, only to discover that we needed a plaque for our group's highest award... but that our wires had gotten crossed and we didn't have one. With little hope, I called Fred at A-1, who immediately told me that A-1 would be able to make a suitable plaque in a single day. I went out to the shop, and got lots of options and good choices. Fred took care of designing (and improving) the layout of our text, and delivered the perfect product the same afternoon. Not only that -- he didn't ask for a 'rush' fee or raise his price ... even though, as he told me, most of his team had taken off for a special event that morning, and he was running the shop all by himself. Immediate response, high quality, and treating the customer well...what more could you ask for? Thanks Fred, from me and from our whole Society. read more

I really want to thank Fred at A-1 Trophy for his help in coming up with a great medal solution for my client who had a presentation in Albuquerque. Fred was in constant contact with us (Print Smart) as to my client's needs, and successfully finished on time! Thank you guys again, for a great example of a business that cares about it's clients!!! read more

The manager there has HORRIBLE customer service. I asked him to explain some of the options, which he was unable to do. Then kept saying "Just let me do my job" and that he was wasting money talking to me. So I did... And the awards came out wrong. I received 3 - 1st place awards instead of 1st, 2nd, and 3rd. When I went back to have the problem fixed, he insisted that it was my fault (which I specifically remember telling him at least 3 times exactly what I wanted the text to be and my friend who was with me confirms this). I explained this to him, and he said "now you're pi**ing me off and if you don't shut up and leave I'm not going to fix them." The customer service here was ATROCIOUS!!! And, if the work had been there to back it up, that would have been one thing, but it was not. The owner was rude, made it very clear that he was wasting his time speaking with me, couldn't explain the products, messed up the order and insisted it was not his fault. With as many trophy shops as are out there, I would avoid this place at all costs!!! read more

I called this shop on a Friday, asking them to make a last-minute batch of multiple awards by Monday--meaning that they had that afternoon and Monday morning to get them done. They jumped right into talking me through the options and costs. They wanted me to review the choices in person since they didn't have everything I needed posted on the website. I told them I had 20 minutes to spare and I raced over on my very short lunch break. They had the trophy parts out and within 20 minutes we had squared away the different sizes posts, toppers, and engraving. I paid and raced back to work. I then found out that we needed TWICE as many trophies because the teams were doubles. I called them up and asked if they could double the order. They didn't have full quantities of every item that I had chosen, so I had to trust them to pick something from their inventory that matched well enough to make up for the shortage. I stressed about the order all weekend, but I got a call early on Monday saying that the order was ready. We picked up the trophies and paid the difference for the added items at pickup. They did a great job finding alternate pieces that matched, the price was fair, and they did it all in a very short and panicky window. The teams were delighted with their trophies, and it really changed the feel of our little college tournament to have these great awards. Thank you very much! read more