Our small town (~3000 people) has an Ace Hardware store. The owner's son is a E36 BMW M3 owner and we chat frequently about cars. I have gotten excellent service on numerous occasions from the store's employees. I live about 15 minutes away, out in the country, but I am about 25 minutes away from the next biggest town which has the big box stores. Here are 4 instances of small town service.
1) I went to purchase about $20 worth of stuff but when I was at the checkout I realized I left my wallet at home. The little old lady running the register told me it was no big deal as she reached into her purse and pulled out $20 of her own money and paid for my items. She just told me to pay her back next time I was in the store.
2) I went in the morning to pick up a couple gallons of paint for the barn. I pulled into the parking lot, went to the front door and pulled. It didn't open. I looked at the opening time and realized I was a half hour early. As I was walking back to my car the owner's son pulled in the parking lot and parked right near me. He graciously opened the store for me so I could buy paint.
3) Just yesterday I went to buy concrete for a foundation project. I remembered the store closed at 8 pm so I left with plenty of time to get there. I arrived at the store at 7:05 pm and guess who greeted me at the door? The owner's son. I guess the store hours changed to 7:00 over winter as a cost saving measurement because sales were down. He let me in and locked the door behind him so I could purchase the concrete.
4) I just finished final exams for Engineering. I had to stay at a friends house on campus because we got 14 inches of snow that night and I didn't want to miss the exam. On my way home the roads were almost impassable on the main highways and I had a hankering my country roads were impossible to get through. I stopped at the local Ace to chat with the owner's son to get a road report. He advised the roads were indeed as bad as I thought and offered to run his plow on his 3500 to clear a path for me. I told him I would try to find a way home and if I couldn't I would be back. The first route I tried I was still 5 miles away from home before drifting was so bad I would have had to walk. The second route I was able to get within 1.5 miles at which point I hiked it the rest of the way. I have no doubt the guy would have tried to get me home if I needed it.
I do what I can to keep the local businesses in business. I would hate to see all the mom and pop shops swallowed up by the big box store.
Speedy
