Boileau Communications Management LLC

Service Builds Fierce Loyalty

A flooded basement this week gave me a potent reminder of how important the little things are to building enduring customer loyalty.

My house was one of hundreds in the Holland, Michigan area that was pounded by storms that swept through last Friday night. Somewhere around five inches of rain fell in just a couple of hours, and it flooded homes all across the area with stunning swiftness.

I awoke Saturday morning to find eight inches of water in my previously dry basement. It was a first for me; my family and I have lived in our home for 15 years and never experienced any water in our basement. So, like our neighbors and thousands of other Holland-area residents we started cleaning up. That included rigging some borrowed pumps to bring the water level down and try to hold it down as it continued seeping in.

By Sunday morning one of my two pumps failed, and we immediately started losing ground (literally!) to the incoming water. I headed out to Lowes and Home Depot in the knowledge that finding any pumps there would be dicey at best. I was right, they’d sold out the day before. On my way home I drove past our neighborhood hardware store, Van Wieren Hardware. I’d visited the store several times on Saturday to buys hoses, clamps and other supplies for damage control.

But Van Wieren is closed on Sundays—always has been. Until last Sunday. Driving past I saw a hand-lettered poster out front that said “Open For Flood Supplies.” Van Wieren is never open on Sunday. Never. But there they were. They had what I needed and they helped me get some things rigged up that ultimately saved me more heartbreak and expense. They were there to help.

A cynic would say they opened up to cash in on the gold mine the storm brought their way. I don’t believe that. I was there on Saturday, and it looked like they did a month’s worth of business in one day. They could have stayed closed and enjoyed the day off on Sunday, and still gone right back to ringing the till nonstop on Monday morning. They didn’t have to be there Sunday to make the sales.

No, they were there because the community needed them to be there. They patiently helped everyone who came in, offering not just supplies and advice, but also kind words of encouragement and a cup of coffee.

They were there for their customers when things got tough. I’m guessing most of us who found our way over there on Sunday won’t ever forget that. My motto now is that if Van Wieren doesn’t have it, I don’t need it.