As some of you know, I've worked for H&H for something more than 20 years. I've seen some impressive things happen that just don't happen in other places. I'm not saying that everyone there is perfect, just that it's a very generous group of people that work there.
I've seen employees go to the parking lot and change flat tires for guests. I've seen employees jump start dead batteries, and push start motorcycles. I've seen empoyees mail forgotten items to guests that live in other states. I once drove 150 miles, on my gas, on my day off, to deliver stuff to a guy who just couldn't leave his job in western Oklahoma for a day to get to OKC. One of our guys shaved his head in a show of support for a guest fighting cancer. Each one of us has attended weddings and funerals of our guests. My personal shotgun has been through CLEET 7 times because I loan it out to guys and gals who need one and "just can't afford one" right now. I've watched our guys take parts off their own guns to get a guest's gun fixed NOW instead of waiting for ordered parts to arrive. I've even seen a guy hand a guest his personal pistol and say, "Here, just wear mine until yours is back from the factory."
Yeah, the guys get chatty with the regulars. It's because the regulars are real friends to us, not customers, real friends. We chat because we're actually interested in our guests. We ask about their families, generally by name. We may have shared a deer camp with that guy last season.
Don't be bashful about stepping into the conversation. That's where our new friends come from! I can't speak for anyone else, but I'll always step away from a "chat" to do business. But please understand that sometimes that chat IS real business! You'd be surprised how many transactions start out with news of the family, the new car, last night's storm, and then end with, "and I'm here to pick up that rifle you showed me last week."
I've seen employees go to the parking lot and change flat tires for guests. I've seen employees jump start dead batteries, and push start motorcycles. I've seen empoyees mail forgotten items to guests that live in other states. I once drove 150 miles, on my gas, on my day off, to deliver stuff to a guy who just couldn't leave his job in western Oklahoma for a day to get to OKC. One of our guys shaved his head in a show of support for a guest fighting cancer. Each one of us has attended weddings and funerals of our guests. My personal shotgun has been through CLEET 7 times because I loan it out to guys and gals who need one and "just can't afford one" right now. I've watched our guys take parts off their own guns to get a guest's gun fixed NOW instead of waiting for ordered parts to arrive. I've even seen a guy hand a guest his personal pistol and say, "Here, just wear mine until yours is back from the factory."
Yeah, the guys get chatty with the regulars. It's because the regulars are real friends to us, not customers, real friends. We chat because we're actually interested in our guests. We ask about their families, generally by name. We may have shared a deer camp with that guy last season.
Don't be bashful about stepping into the conversation. That's where our new friends come from! I can't speak for anyone else, but I'll always step away from a "chat" to do business. But please understand that sometimes that chat IS real business! You'd be surprised how many transactions start out with news of the family, the new car, last night's storm, and then end with, "and I'm here to pick up that rifle you showed me last week."
