Weekend Hours

As our days become warmer and longer I occasionally have folks tell me, "You could make a lot more money if you stayed open later!"  I'll be the first to admit, they are probably right.  I know what it is like to be in the middle of a Saturday job and suddenly realize you need just one more thing to complete it.  You jump in the car and run to the store only to realize it is 5:30 pm and Dave's Ace is closed!  Or worse yet, it is 3:30 pm on a Sunday afternoon and the store is closed!  Don't you wonder, "WHAT THE HECK IS DAVE THINKING!?"

Allow me to explain.  I decided many years ago that our success depended at least as much on helpful, friendly and dedicated staff members as it did on being able to sell hardware.  Although most people could work 50 or 60 hours a week (including weekends), most would not care to keep that kind of schedule for very long.  I believe our long term formula for success depends on associates who have chosen to dedicate themselves not only to Dave's Ace, but also to serve our customers and friends with friendly expertise.  That is not easy for a short term employee to offer.  Offering our staff the opportunity to work reasonable hours that still allow for valuable family time is an important part of that equation.

Occasionally, I have considered offering summer and winter hours.  This is not totally unheard of in the retail business.  I have, however, always resisted the temptation because I know customers who come shopping at a later hour in the summer will most likely be disappointed and possibly upset when they attempt to do business at the exact same time later in the year, only to find the store closed due to winter hours.  For that reason, I have committed to never cutting back our store hours.  We will and have extended our hours of operation but have never cut them back.

Have you ever walked towards the door of a retail store only to have someone lock the door in your face?  Unfortunately, I have!  In addition to maintaining regular and consistent store hours, we also pledge to never lock our doors before our posted closing times.  In fact, our systems manual states that no entrance door will ever be locked until at least one minute after our posted closing times.  Not only that, if a customer is walking towards the door as we are about to lock it, they will still be invited in to make their last minute purchase.

So, even though I may occasionally take some heat for "intentionally losing money" due to my choice of evening closing hours, I think you'd have to agree.... Dave's Ace's policies are always designed with the best interest of our customers, friends AND our incredible staff members in mind!

Comments

[Richmond]

I like that you keep traditional hours. :-)

And just as an FYI - the url you included in the Ace Newsletter www.acehardwareblog.com
when put into the browser as it is takes you to an error message or "page not found."

If other folks have a similar issue, you may want to print a correction in the next newsletter including the http://

http://www.acehardwareblog.com/

Welcome to the blogosphere! I hope that you have a great time blogging!

[Richmond]

Huh - and as I check again now the www.acehardwareblog.com is working. Go figure!

[David Warren]

Richmond,
Thanks for your kind words. Better still, thanks for being the SECOND person to actually comment on my post! It sure feels good to know someone other than my Mom and Dad is actually reading this. Yesterday I asked my wife if she had read my recent posts. Sadly, I learned SHE NEVER DOES! ;-( (kind of made me think I was actually writing a diary.