Old fashioned success

C

Camper6

Well-known Member
Location
Northwestern Ontario Canada
One of the companies I worked for is still doing well.
A lumber yard. When Home Depot moved into town people predicted their demise.
Their secret? A knowledgeable live person answering the phone. And no written quotations that could be taken for comparison .
I'm often frustrated and give up with the press one and five options when trying to get an answer to a simple question like what time do you close today.
 

The Big Box stores are OK, but I'm glad we still have a decent small hardware/lumber store in our nearby town. The savings in time and gas to run to the nearest city makes most local purchases a real Plus.
 

I think today's lumber yard has to sell more than lumber to survive. There are two here that closed since contractors could get what they needed from big box places which made their bidding more competitive.
 
I'm not a fan of automated phone systems. I run into the problem of not having the prompt for why I called Say, I want 'blue', but it's "press 1 for 'green' and 2 for 'red'. And those are your choices. What do you do? I do go to the big box stores, but I don't think it's a satisfying experience. I've been in Lowe's, where I could not find a salesperson, other than at the register, I've learned to check the stock, because there's so much pilfering that what you buy may be an empty box, or have missing parts- back to nobody's on the floor, to stop thievery. There have been some lumber yards that closed around me. But there were more like mini box stores. The ones that cater to trade seem to be doing OK. Maybe the big box stores cater to the general public, more than they do trades people, so there two types of cliental, thus two kinds of stores?
 
Chet said:
I think today's lumber yard has to sell more than lumber to survive. There are two here that closed since contractors could get what they needed from big box places which made their bidding more competitive.
Click to expand...
That's all they sell when I'm talking about the lumber yard. Lowes closed down here.
The other disadvantage at the big stores like Home Depot is that the contractors get to select the lumber and pick all the good stuff, leaving you twisted boards and crap.
The lumber yard I worked for was part of a big buying group so their prices were competitive.
Also they opened at 7 a.m. which is what contractors want because they have people on the job waiting.
As I said before. Old fashioned methods pay off.
 
I have noticed that some people will form a relationship with their vendors. In return, the vendors try their hardest to have customer loyalty and keep their clientele satisfied. I have been dealing with many of the mom and pop stores and such for many years. They have always been good to me and vice versa. In some cases, my parents dealt with them also and now I am dealing with their kids and in one case, their grandchild.

I could do better (price wise) at the big box stores, but not get the service and they are always glad to see me. We always have a conversation.
 
That's right, personal satisfaction.

The owners of the company I was talking about spoke Finnish and a lot of the customers are in the contracting business and are immigrants from Finland.
That's another advantage in business.
 
We have an old family owned country hardware store..... up until 5 years ago they didnt take cards...
and had paper book under the counter to add to your tab if you didnt have cash....
There is 4 generations working there today....and have about anything you need....
 
There is a small restaurant in town. Mostly hot dogs, hamburgers, and fries on the menu.

No cards. Cash only. Great place to make change.
 

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