Special lssue: Hardwood Hardwood retailer accents customer servtGe

fN the entire process of moving r hardwood from the forest to the ultimate consumer, there are many who take part in selling at the retail level, but all too few who do a first rate job of selling the final con. sumer.

Falling into that select later cate. gory is a small West [.os Angeles firm named, appropriately enough, House of Hardwood. Operating out of a 50' x I00' building, with limit' ed parking, it is the kind of place that wood freaks tell each other about, the type of business that hobbyists consider a find, the sort of place that knows how to advise its customers and always seems to have that obscure Brazilian hardwood you've been seeking all over town.

In a time when firms may carry ten widely divergent lines, and claim to "specialize" in each one, it is re' freshing to encounter one that has picked its market segment and is, wisely, sticking to it. With the excep' tion of some fir plywood that it car' ries as a convenience for its contrac' tor customers and some clear Pine and shelving pine, the firm confines itself to hardwoods, plus some stains and directly related Products'

About 60 percent of their current business is from the do-it'yourself trade, the balance from contractors, cabinet makers and the like. The ra' tio between the two varies dePend' ins on the current status of housing sta"rts and how flush the public feels'

Heading the House of Hardwood is Mrs. JJanne Waldeck, president of the 25 year-old firm. Started in 1947 by her husband George, she- took over active management following his death in 1955. Her two sons, Dave, 25, and LarrY, 23, now work as salesmen. ComPleting the familv picture is Dave's wife Karen, *ho wai, and is, girl FridaY to Jean' ne Waldeck. This all works fing except for when LarrY's wife C$d ""[lr K.r"n and asks lor Jeanne by saying Mrs. W'aldeck, this is Mrs. Waldeck, may I please speak to Mrs. Waldeck? All told. there are six full time employees and one part-time. The manager of the House o{ Hardwood is Loren Saunders, a 22 year veteran with the firm.

The open, walk-through entran@ is flanked on one side by a display room and on the other by the of. fices. In the entry is a bargain cart with various items sale priced, backed up by a table of Indian rose-

Sfory sI d Glonce

Specializing in hardwood, this firm finds providing information is an important part of many sales interest in ecology has produced important side trend to building and sculpting hardwoods.

wood shorts priced at $I per lb., marked down from $I.40. Inside the low.keyed interior, a central sales desk is midway between the fir and hardwood plywood, mouldings and l/r" lumber on one side and a wide variety of domestic and imported hardwood on the other. Each bin is neatly identified as to species and size. A mill is located at the back of the building. The minimum charge for any cut is $1, with straight milling $10 per hour and custom milling $I2 per hour. Delivery charge is variable, depending on load, distance, difficulty of delivery and like factors.

"We get the most interesting customerso" observes Jeanne Wal' deck, who notes that young PeoPle's intense interest in crafts and in the creating and developing involved in., wood sculpture and handmade fur' niture seems to be a new trend. She feels it is probably related to the