“A GEM EVERY STORE SHOULD HAVE ”

In

Sarah Brun, our store manager, is a gem every store should have. She started with us in 1994 as a student and helped us build Westgate Village Home Hardware from the ground up. On opening day, she single-handedly rang through 80 customers an hour and balanced her till to the penny. I have told that story to hundreds of cashiers over my career. In 1998, the store was recognized as the best hardware store under 5,000 square feet in Canada by the Canadian Retail Hardware Association. Sarah eventually moved to Ottawa with her husband and ran a Home Hardware store for a few years. We lost touch with her when she began her family.

A couple of years ago, while we were renovating the store, Sarah showed up one day and volunteered to help. We hadn’t seen her for over a decade, but apparently, she had raised her family and was looking for something to do. At first, she just worked a few days a week, moving fixtures and merchandising, but her drive to have the best store again took over and it wasn’t long before we pleaded with her to become the store manager.

Since then, our store has blossomed. Sales have increased more than 35 percent since the renovation, but more than that, our customers love coming in to see her and the rest of her team. On a weekly— and sometimes a daily—basis, a thankful customer sends her flowers, a note, cookies or brings her a Timmies. In my almost 30 years owning Home Hardware stores,

I have never experienced the response Sarah receives from her customers.

The crowning glory came, however, from one of our competitors. A Lowe’s store needed help for one of their customers and Sarah gave them the typical “Sarah service experience”. They were so impressed, they contacted Home Hardware head office and gave her a great commendation. When an employee gets that kind of praise from a competitor, you know you have something special.

— L en Greig, Westgate Village Home Hardware, Cambridge, Ont.

Does someone on your team deserve a special shout out?

We know your retail staff are hard-working, thoughtful and innovative—and we want to help you tell their stories. This column is your chance to recognize your store employees for all the things they do, big and small. Contact our Editor, Sigrid Forberg (sigrid@hardlines.ca), with the details of how your customer-service champions, product-knowledge prodigies or natural leaders go above and beyond every day to make your store successful and improve their colleagues’ and customers’ lives.