Sears Hometown keeps focus on customer service
By FRED AFFLERBACH | Photos by BECKY STINEHOUR
Staying at a hotel outside San Antonio in early 2019, two young entrepreneurs wondered what they had gotten themselves into. Shelby Hannah and Daniel Lee had just made a major financial commitment and were on the road for new business orientation. They had obligations. They had bills. And they were down to their last $40.
But the next day, their loan was approved, and by June they were selling washers and dryers, refrigerators and all sorts of tools at their Sears Hometown Store franchise in Temple.
The national chain of Sears Hometown Stores spun off from the parent company in 2014, a strategy to remain relevant and solvent in a changing business climate. Today, about 325 of these retailers still sell the old standard brands such as Kenmore appliances and Craftsman tools, as well as new models that have recently come of age.
Although the couple are too young — Hannah, 30, and Lee, 35 — to have experienced Sears in its glory days when shoppers could update their wardrobe and buy Christmas gifts for the kids while getting a set of new tires installed, they say that old-fashioned hospitality has not gone out of style.
“From the moment you walk into the store, you come to realize that it’s almost a different time. We focus on something that is like the Sears name from yesteryear,” Lee said. “Everyone is willing to help you, willing to talk with you and help you work through whatever issues you have. And sometimes that means not a sale for us, but ultimately we would rather you be a little bit upset because we burst a bubble rather than (sell you) something we promised the world for.”
Lee and Hannah both grew up in East Texas and met in the Houston suburb of Richmond in 2017. Lee, an Army veteran of three overseas tours, planned to enroll in a master’s degree program at Rice University. To pay bills, he worked in the warehouse at a Sears Hometown store. When his district manager offered him an opportunity to buy the store in Temple, he balked. But after carefully examining the numbers with his partner, Hannah (the couple is now engaged), the more excited they became. They secured the loan just a day after that anxious night in a motel room, down to just $40 in cash.
Hannah is a self-described people person who has worked in customer service since she landed her first job at a grocery store at age 16. “My favorite phone calls are people who just don’t have anybody to talk to,” she said. “So, we’ll talk to them. About anything. They make my day. Customer service is huge for us. We built our brand around that. Everyone who walks in is the most important person at that moment. It’s the hometown feel. We want people to come in and be comfortable that they’re going to be taken care of. Everyone knows everyone’s name.”
Lee and Hannah’s store has an 8,000-square-foot showroom and a 7,000-square-foot warehouse with about 10 employees. They specialize in appliances, tools, and lawn and garden supplies. When you buy an appliance, such as a new refrigerator, they offer “white glove” delivery service in which workers install and set up the unit. They also perform appliance warranty service and repairs.
When the coronavirus pandemic hit, the Temple Sears Hometown store was deemed an essential business and could stay open, but their delivery service slowed down. Meanwhile, Lee and Hannah were down to about three employees. People were staying home to take care of kids and loved ones. Hannah says it was a whirlwind in which shoppers quickly filled their new answering machine to capacity.
Customers such as Eva Marie Tranum are happy that Sears Hometown is making service calls and deliveries.
Tranum, who shopped with Sears during its heyday, has used the store several times for warranty service and new purchases. She says while major retailers today are impersonal, Sears Hometown is a throwback.
“Customers just feel left out of the service part of the sale, somebody there to help when they have a problem. The way Shelby and Daniel are trying to do this with their service, that just speaks volumes. These days when you have big box stores and you really have nobody to stand behind the product, this is very refreshing and very much what we need right now. Temple’s not a small town, but not a mega-city. They’re making a really nice mark in the community.”
Hannah and Lee are also growing their business by cultivating relationships with local builders. Hannah is working on a luxury kitchen suite for a 6,000-square-foot home.
Rex Karl, president of Stellar Homes in Temple, sends his buyers to them early in the homebuilding stages to select kitchen appliances.
“If the appliances show up two months before we need them, they (Sears Hometown) hold them for us and deliver on demand. Sometimes our homeowners will want to go ahead and buy washers and dryers, which are not typically part of the homebuilding package, because we get such good service there,” Karl said. “It’s good to have these small businesses in Temple to help support our customers.”
Looking back several months, Hannah recalls a woman who more than once drove up from Hutto, about 50 miles from Temple. She stayed for long visits but didn’t buy anything. Hannah says that’s OK. In retail, establishing relationships is paramount.
“Everyone who walks in is the most important person in the world.”
Sears Hometown is at 1212 Marlandwood Road in Temple.
