Spring 2019 Hardlines Strategies

CUSTOMER RELATIONS

Going Further for Customers Retailers Share Why They Make the Extra Effort

So, it takes that little something extra to set yourself apart. Whether that extra effort comes in the form of increasing community outreach, offering more added services or making sure no customer leaves without the tools they need, these retailers have put a focus on doing the most they can for their customers. Going Big in a Small Town Chantae Simpson and her family take the future of Kiowa, Kansas, seriously. The Simpson family owns other businesses in town, including a welding business that assists with work for nearby oil companies. When the local hardware store was looking to close up shop, which would have left the surrounding area without a local store for supplies, the Simpsons decided to take action. “We knew if the store closed, no one was coming to put another hardware store in,” Simpson says. Though with no hardware retail experience, Simpson and her husband Roger decided to take on the store and make it a success. consumers’ attention and loyalty, the independent sector’s level of product knowledge and experience often fare well compared to big-box retailers. I ndependent hardware retailers pride themselves on the high levels of customer service they provide. In the competition for

After 15 years in the family name, Simpson’s Hardware, Appliance and Gifts has been more than a successful hardware store; it’s an all-inclusive collection of appliances, gifts and assorted other items that supply not only Kiowa but many small communities in the area. The business operates a plumbing and appliance repair service run primarily by one of Simpson’s sons, RL Simpson, who bought into the store with his parents and whose wife Ariel also works there. Chantae Simpson also volunteers as an EMT to help her fellow citizens in some of the most traumatic situations they will ever face. Whenever I’m Needed No time is a bad time for Robert Baze, general manager of BES Supply Store in Carlsbad, New Mexico. When a customer needs something vital, Baze is ready to assist. Whether that’s opening the store early for customers commuting from other communities, coming into the store after closing time to supply a customer, or opening up the doors on a day when the store might otherwise be closed, Baze and BES Supply Store have built a reputation for being straightforward with their goals for customer service and supplying their professional and DIY customers.

On top of supplying his professional customers with items on their schedule, BES Supply Store is dedicated to engaging with its customers on social media and through regular prize promotions that help build goodwill. “Blish-Mize has really supported us by giving us access to items that are exclusive to this region,” Baze says. A Custom-Made Relationship Ken Owens, manager of the Century Lumber Center in Torrington, Wyoming, is used to surprising people. The store extensively stocks agricultural and building materials supplies, but also offers large displays for millwork, working fireplaces and plumbing displays, such as full bathroom designs. “We have a unique store, given the area, and we’re committed to being seen as a player in every category,” Owens says. Given Century Lumber Center’s focus on surprising customers with its selections, pricing is a concern for employees at the Torrington location. Utilizing Blish-Mize’s custom pricing programs, Century Lumber Center is able to judge its own margins and set prices where it makes sense for its customers, Owens says. “With Blish-Mize, we receive the best service of any distributor out there, bar none,” Owens says.

38 Spring 2019 • Hardlines Strategies