The Chelsea Standard
A Heritage Newspaper
Weekly Publication
Customer service still driving the local family business
By Lindy Stevens, Special Writer
PUBLISHED: September 4, 2008
Open since 1961, McCalla Feed is a family-owned business that knows a thing or two about longevity.
Advertisement
Business manager Ron Stoffer, who has taken care of most of the day-to-day operations for the past 15 years, said the success of the second-generation family business has to do with loyal customers and a commitment to good service - such as prompt delivery and loading up each customer's car whenever they make a purchase.
While those qualities have been enough to maintain accounts with everyone from local farmers to the Chelsea Community Hospital, Stoffer said it's becoming difficult to compete with prices offered by larger retailers.
"A bigger store can run a sale to bring people in and they'll make almost no money on it just to get people in the store," Stoffer said. "But it's harder for us to do that."
In addition to having fewer customers than he usually sees in the summer months, Stoffer said McCalla's has also been challenged by the rising wholesale costs of their products.
But true to form, Stoffer said this business keeps costs down by having a staff of just two employees and a sister-in-law who takes care of the bookkeeping.
"The cost of corn and grain are near record highs right now," Stoffer said.
"So you've really got to push the pencil and try to do what you can to buy cheaper and keep costs down to stay competitive."
The customer-service ethic is vital for Mike Jackson, the owner of Vogel's & Foster's Men's and Women's wear in downtown Chelsea.
Jackson, whose customers hail mostly from the Chelsea-Ann Arbor area, said he and his staff of 10 try to create a welcoming atmosphere when customers come to shop.
And although his downtown storefront doesn't have nearly the same square footage as larger department stores, Jackson said that's something he makes up for with an eclectic inventory.
"We are a smaller store, so obviously I can't buy in bulk the way some of the bigger stores do, but I do try to buy unusual things that are a little bit different to carry in the store," Jackson said.
But whether it's jackets, sweaters or shoes, Jackson said the success of Vogel's & Foster's has had a lot to do with input from the customers.
About once a month, after the store closes for the evening, Jackson said he invites a group of customers to participate in a focus group to give him opinions about the store's set-up, the window displays and the general clothing selection.
"I try to get ideas on what we could do better or find out what they like at other stores," Jackson said.
"So we try to get ideas that way and then change things that we're doing in the store."
Carrying classic brands like Red Wing and Woolrich, Jackson said he's also had success when those companies have sponsored events in his store featuring new styles and new merchandise.
But even with all of his products and promotions, Jackson said it's still his customer base that has made all of the difference.
As for Karen Fosdick, who co-owns Cottage Inn pizza with her husband Sean, she said loyal customers, friends and employees who've been with her for years have helped maintained the success of her family business since 1997.
Though Fosdick said the minimum-wage increase and higher gas prices have made pizza making and delivery more expensive, one of her biggest challenges has been finding new ways to reach out to new customers.
Even with those setbacks and the 50- or 60-hour workweek that comes with owning her own business, though, Fosdick said she still loves the flexibility of setting her own hours.
"We are in a position where if we want to leave at 3 o'clock, then we just schedule someone to come in," Fosdick said.
"That way we've been able to participate in all of our kids' functions, and that is really nice."
But with bookkeeping, scheduling, making sure there's enough sauce and cheese to go on every pizza - and the fact that she's on-call basically all the time - Fosdick said she still wouldn't trade owning her own business for a more conventional 9-to-5 job.
"I didn't know what I was getting into 11 years ago," Fosdick said.
"But I've always been a hard worker and even when times get rough, I just think about my commitment and I know that I'm here for the long haul."
When Jerry Bridges' father opened up Lloyd Bridges Traveland back in 1966, RVs were a high-end item for people who either had saved up for years or just had large disposable incomes.
Though that's still the case, today's competition is fierce - and with fuel prices hovering around $4 a gallon, gas-guzzling RVs seem to be less practical than ever.
Considering the lackluster Michigan economy to boot, Bridges said his family and his company still operate under the same motto as his father did back in the 1960s.
"When the going gets tough, the tough get tougher," Bridges said.
And as a soon to be third-generation family-owned business, that's exactly what Bridges and his brother Charlie have had to do.
Bridges said the advent of the Internet has meant more customers are now shopping from the comfort of their own homes.
The economic slowdown across the state has also meant they've seen a 40 percent drop in foot traffic through their showroom in recent months.
But rather than rely only on face-to-face customers, Bridges said he and his team of six sales representatives have eased up on the local approach and tapped into a completely new customer base that spans the globe - on the Internet.
"We used to advertise in local newspapers and we used to be on local TV, radio and billboards to try and get people within a 50-mile radius," Bridges said.
"But because of the present economy and because RV sales are down across the whole nation, we won't be able to survive if we continue to do business in the same respect we always have."
Currently working through about five different Web sites, Bridges said Internet sales have helped make up for lost local business.
He added, however, that with competition from across the country, an Internet-driven RV market has taken prices to all-time lows.
Despite shrinking profit margins, Bridges said there is still one thing that brings RV enthusiasts to his family's longstanding Traveland.
"The difference is the personal service you get here that you don't get anywhere else," Bridges said. "You are not a number here, you're an individual."
Not all stories are guaranteed to appear
online. The Web edition contains a reasonable
sampling of the print edition stories.
For the most complete news coverage, we invite you to
subscribe
to the print edition of the paper.
Expanded
Web
Coverage
TOP JOBS
