Recently returned 2,500 miles to visit my mother in a rural community of
Northern Ohio.
To set the scene, the nearest town of any size is about 8-10 miles away,
still a local phone call.
Before I arrived, had been warned her stove, an apartment size unit was
not working.
Upon inspection, it was obvious the stove had seen better days and
needed to be replaced.
My mother does not have a computer, it was Wolley Segap time.
This is Saturday morning.
A few phone calls determined the big box stores had no inventory, but
could order it.
The way I see it, you can't sell from an empty wagon, you need inventory.
Finally found an old time white goods appliance dealer that I had almost
forgot about.
Yes, they had a plain white stove.
They weren't giving it away, but their price was reasonable.
They could still deliver on Saturday afternoon for a $20 fee which
included dropping the new stove in place, hooking up the gas line and
getting rid of the old stove.
Talk about a deal.
During the installation, they damaged a gas line on the stove.
Back to the store for parts to make a temporary repair while they
ordered a replacement part.
Repairs were completed before 5:00PM.
Part arrived and replacement made in less than 2 weeks.
Today a letter arrived thanking my mother for her business.
Had almost forgotten that some people still know how to do business the
way it was done when I was a kid.
Nice touch if you ask me.
Lew
Nice story, you bet those places are still out there. I come from a small
town as well. Recently my mothers freezer gave out late on a Saturday
afternoon. (Or thats when she discovered the puddle of oil under it). She's
14 miles out of town and 45 miles from the nearest "city". She called the
local hardware store (which is more of a general store) about 10 minutes
after closing. They answered. The owner says he couldn't get out there till
after Saturday evening church and asked if that would be alright. Fella
showed up at 8:30 with both freezers he had in stock on his lawn mower
trailer and let her choose the one she wanted right there in the front yard.
Then he helped transfer the food and took off with the old one by 9:45....
Betcha don't find that knda service at the BORG.
Knothead
"Lew Hodgett" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> >
> Had almost forgotten that some people still know how to do business the
> way it was done when I was a kid.
>
> Nice touch if you ask me.
>
>
> Lew
It amazes me why people do business with the large box stores.
Service sucks, "sales people", (I use the term loosely!), have no product
knowledge, and the prices are not that great!
I replaced soffit and fascia on my hone a few years ago. Decided Saturday
afternoon that I needed to get going on the job. Stopped at three different
big box lumber yards. None of them had enough materials on hand to do my
little house. Got frustrated and gave up. Monday morning I called a locally
owned lumber yard, you know a real lumber yard, with bulk nails and screws
by the lbs., coffee and donuts on a dirty table by the back door, and people
that actually know their product. They had enough material on hand to do ten
houses like mine. Gave them a CC number, and the material was in my driveway
when I go home. Best part is the price was LESS than any of the big box
stores!
I need some windows replaced. For kicks I shopped the box stores and the
fore mentioned lumber yard. One place I could not even get help, even after
stopping on two different days. Another place I did get help and prices
which again were higher than the local lumber yard! Either place would have
to order them, but the box store could not give me an approximate delivery
date, where the local yard said 4-5 business days!
Next time I am not even going to bother!
Greg
The Oral Surgeon called about 7:30 after implant surgery and said I'd
be swollen the next day as I wasn't using ice he recommended. Boy was
he correct! Should have believed him as he taught the procedure at
UCLA which is about 60 miles south of where we live. Only one to ever
do that. Retired at age 55 a millionaire.
On Thu, 29 Sep 2005 21:49:15 -0700, Fly-by-Night CC
<[email protected]> wrote:
>In article <[email protected]>,
> John B <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>> G'day Lew.
>> Makes life worthwhile, when there are people out there that CARE, about
>> a person not a dollar and are more than happy when both come hand in hand.
>> A great yarn.
>> regards
>> John
>
>Though my story may be non-woodworking, it fits in pretty well.
>
>Believe it or not, our dentist always gives us a call that evening after
>doing anything invasive. Crowns, root canals, even basic fillings will
>earn a call from him shortly after dinner time. "How are you doing? Do
>you need anything more than Tylenol or aspirin for the pain? Please call
>me if you have any discomfort from the procedure that you'd like me to
>look into."
>
>Now this isn't an old-school doctor - he's in his early 40s. This is
>also not a small-town influence - he's about 10 minutes east of
>Portland, OR. Lastly, this isn't a matter of lack of skills or patients
>- he's the team dentist for the Trailblazers.
>
>We've *never* had any other doctor follow up on anything - well, our vet
>will sometimes call, but in his case, it is old-school and small town
>influences.
Lew Hodgett wrote:
> Recently returned 2,500 miles to visit my mother in a rural community of
> Northern Ohio.
>
> To set the scene, the nearest town of any size is about 8-10 miles away,
> still a local phone call.
>
> Before I arrived, had been warned her stove, an apartment size unit was
> not working.
>
> Upon inspection, it was obvious the stove had seen better days and
> needed to be replaced.
>
> My mother does not have a computer, it was Wolley Segap time.
>
> This is Saturday morning.
>
> A few phone calls determined the big box stores had no inventory, but
> could order it.
>
> The way I see it, you can't sell from an empty wagon, you need inventory.
>
> Finally found an old time white goods appliance dealer that I had almost
> forgot about.
>
> Yes, they had a plain white stove.
>
> They weren't giving it away, but their price was reasonable.
>
> They could still deliver on Saturday afternoon for a $20 fee which
> included dropping the new stove in place, hooking up the gas line and
> getting rid of the old stove.
>
> Talk about a deal.
>
> During the installation, they damaged a gas line on the stove.
>
> Back to the store for parts to make a temporary repair while they
> ordered a replacement part.
>
> Repairs were completed before 5:00PM.
>
> Part arrived and replacement made in less than 2 weeks.
>
> Today a letter arrived thanking my mother for her business.
>
> Had almost forgotten that some people still know how to do business the
> way it was done when I was a kid.
>
> Nice touch if you ask me.
>
>
> Lew
G'day Lew.
Makes life worthwhile, when there are people out there that CARE, about
a person not a dollar and are more than happy when both come hand in hand.
A great yarn.
regards
John
In article <[email protected]>, Lew Hodgett <[email protected]> wrote:
> Had almost forgotten that some people still know how to do business the
> way it was done when I was a kid.
>
> Nice touch if you ask me.
Well, I didn't ask you, but...;o]
But you're right, it is a nice touch.
This town (although a city) of 70,000 has been serviced nicely by a lumber yard called Beaver Lumber (How Canadian is
THAT?). You've met some of the people here, Lew, not a bad bunch, eh?
When Home Depot first opened, Bob, the owner of Beaver/Home Hardware Building Centre, noticed a drop in local
contractors buying basic building materials. He knew that would happen, but he also knew what would happen next.
They all came back. The prices were similar, the guys and gals working in the store knew everybody by name. Delivery was
prompt as always. But "they had to find out for themselves, nothing I could say or do would have stopped them from
trying that 'new way' of buying." "No hard feelings"
By the third year, business had actually improved to the point they (Beaver) had to hire new people.
Several job interviews made it really clear, nobody trying to jump ship from HD had the knowledge to work there.
And the guys who left Beaver to go to HD have always been welcome back.
You can't buy those warm and fuzzy feelings.
On Thu, 29 Sep 2005 00:06:19 -0500, "Greg O" <[email protected]>
wrote:
>I need some windows replaced. For kicks I shopped the box stores and the
>fore mentioned lumber yard. One place I could not even get help, even after
>stopping on two different days. Another place I did get help and prices
>which again were higher than the local lumber yard! Either place would have
>to order them, but the box store could not give me an approximate delivery
>date, where the local yard said 4-5 business days!
>Next time I am not even going to bother!
Doesn't always work that way, though. I needed a small sliding
window, 2' x 3'. The local lumber yard didn't have it, but could order
it, so we had them do so, just assuming that they were right that it
was an "odd size" and not generally available. When the window came it
was only 22 x 34, but that was close enough, I guess they measure the
outside of the flange rather than the inside. Kind of spendy, but what
the hey, it *was* a special order and they had it to us within 2
weeks. A few weeks later I was passing through the local Borg and
noticed some smaller sliding windows sitting there. Yep, you guessed
it, exactly 22 x 34, from the same manufacturer as the lumber yard and
there was a whole pile of them - for about half what we paid.
Now I check all options pretty carefully, there is no reliable rule of
thumb when it comes to building supplies.
--
"We need to make a sacrifice to the gods, find me a young virgin... oh, and bring something to kill"
Tim Douglass
http://www.DouglassClan.com
In article <[email protected]>,
John B <[email protected]> wrote:
> G'day Lew.
> Makes life worthwhile, when there are people out there that CARE, about
> a person not a dollar and are more than happy when both come hand in hand.
> A great yarn.
> regards
> John
Though my story may be non-woodworking, it fits in pretty well.
Believe it or not, our dentist always gives us a call that evening after
doing anything invasive. Crowns, root canals, even basic fillings will
earn a call from him shortly after dinner time. "How are you doing? Do
you need anything more than Tylenol or aspirin for the pain? Please call
me if you have any discomfort from the procedure that you'd like me to
look into."
Now this isn't an old-school doctor - he's in his early 40s. This is
also not a small-town influence - he's about 10 minutes east of
Portland, OR. Lastly, this isn't a matter of lack of skills or patients
- he's the team dentist for the Trailblazers.
We've *never* had any other doctor follow up on anything - well, our vet
will sometimes call, but in his case, it is old-school and small town
influences.
--
Owen Lowe
The Fly-by-Night Copper Company
__________
"I pledge allegiance to the flag of the
Corporate States of America and to the
Republicans for which it stands, one nation,
under debt, easily divisible, with liberty
and justice for oil."
- Wiley Miller, Non Sequitur, 1/24/05