'Big Box' personalized customer service - Not!

Monday, April 18, 2005

Dear Editor,

The idea to write this letter came to me last week as I was picking up an order I had placed from Shaw's Meats on N. Main Street. A customer came in inquiring about his order. Mr. Sullivan cordially explained to his customer that it was not ready yet, but he would see to it that it was prepared as requested and that he would personally deliver the order on his way home. It occurred to me that this kind of customer service probably happens in this store many times during the course of a week. Coincidentally, another customer came in with his wife commenting that they had been patronizing Shaw's for over 25 years. This is exactly the kind of thing that differentiates small businesses from the big ones. For instance, the woman who misplaced her car keys while shopping at Craft Corner on Cumberland Hill Rd. The owner personally drove her customer home to get a spare set of keys.

Then there is the customer of a local lumberyard who suffered a house fire and called the owner on a Sunday morning asking if they would open so that he could get some plywood to board up his house. The point I am trying to make is that bigger is not always better. Certainly not when it comes to customer service. Try calling a big box store to ask a simple question about an item. Just for the heck of it, time the call. See how long it actually takes to get an answer. Need something delivered? How much is that going to cost? Most big boxes have at least a $50.00 delivery charge. So, in the end, how much have you really saved? The next time you are at your son or daughter's soccer or baseball game, check out the names on their shirts and those on the opposing team. I guarantee you that they are area local small businesses sponsoring your child's activity. Local businesses are called upon almost daily to help support the community in one way or another. Things like advertising or donating to the VFW, RI Special Olympics, FOP, RI State Police, City Schools, Yearbooks, RI Shrines and The Boy Scouts to name just a few. All I am asking is that everyone take a long hard look at what is being presented as a gift that should not be passed up.

Demand that this administration prove to the citizens of Woonsocket that if the MED zone proposal happens, that we will not have traffic jams, that the local businesses will be able to survive the unfair sales tax advantage, that it will not cost more in police and fire protection and that it will not cause a tax increase. The impact studies that I have read have shown just the opposite to be true. I have learned that if something sounds too good to be true, it usually is.

Anne Poirier, President
Beauchemin Lumber Co., Inc.
Woonsocket, RI