Saturdays with Bob: One Customer at a Time

By Bob Jacquart, CEO

As I look back on my life’s journey, little did I know that the skills that I learned in my first part-time job would come full circle. Back in the 7th grade, I put together bicycles, strollers and wagons at my Uncle King’s five-and-dime store. My uncle encouraged me to meet and interact with the customers, even at that young age. I quickly learned that I loved meeting new people – learning from them, hearing their stories, and helping them with whatever they needed.

As an adult, in the early days of my work at Jacquart Fabric Products, I made custom boat covers and learned to upholster furniture – two more areas in which I worked directly with the end customer. I even began to pass my love of customer interaction on to my two daughters – they often came to work with me on Saturday mornings, where they learned to introduce themselves by looking people straight in the eye and shaking their hand.

Eventually, as JFP grew, I found myself working with the end customer less and less. I had other things to work on – building budgets and strategic plans, developing employees and creating an infrastructure that would support the company we were building.

As these things have been set in place and our management team has expanded, however, I find myself with a little more time on my hands. Time that I have turned back to the customer – but a new type of customer, the Stormy Kromer fan who wants to see for themselves where the caps are made and visit our Factory Store.

The factory operates Monday through Friday, and therefore our tours are offered during the week. Our Factory Store has also followed that schedule. Last fall I decided to open our Factory Store on Saturdays, mainly to accommodate tourists who are visiting our area on the weekend. It proved to be a huge success.

For the most part, I am the only one working on Saturdays, and we’re open from about 9-12. The folks who come in on Saturdays tend to be very passionate about our brand and usually have great stories to share. I honestly can’t imagine a better way to spend a Saturday morning than talking about Stormy Kromer with people as excited about the brand as I am!

As soon as the weather warms up, however, Saturdays will be cycling days for me and we’ll have someone else staffing the store. Don’t worry though, the cycling season is pretty short and come fall, I plan to be back.

Come to think of it…this may be a glimpse of my retirement job. Maybe a new store with a coffee shop, Stormy Kromer products and free stories to all who want to hear them. Sounds pretty good to me.

Reader interactions

10 Replies to “Saturdays with Bob: One Customer at a Time”

  1. Great story! I stopped by once on a Saturday…fascinating place!

    Reply

    1. Mary,

      Make sure you know you are always welcome back!

      Bob J

      Reply

  2. I didn’t realize that the Factory Store was open on Saturday AMs. Good to know for future needs. Brother Paul and I worked the NRA Gun Show in Wausau over the weekend. Paul sold his Kromers and we both were able to share our Kromer stories with customers…..loved it and people, both men and women, love the Kromer!

    Reply

    1. Thanks for the note Gene, and also for spreading your Kromer stories! We appreciate it.

      Reply

  3. A potbelly stove, oak chairs, a sleeping dog on the floor, and an endless pot of Joe.
    Skip the plastic playground and WiFi. Good conversation and you can hear each other!

    Reply

    1. Hey Chuck

      In a few years, that;s exactly what will be going on here and you are certainly invited. Our old neighborhood friend Lanny T would LOVE to join us.

      Bob J

      Reply

  4. Love the Stormy K. brand of caps and recommend them to everyone i know. Where is the factory store located? Would love to come by and visit some time.

    Reply

    1. We’re located in Ironwood, MI…the far western end of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. We’d love it if you stop by!

      Reply

  5. Been there a few times. Hardly anywhere can you have this kind of experience. Meet the owner, talk about anything ( he’s well-versed and knowledeable). Have a cup of joe and see really good stuff to buy. I recommend it for any and all.

    Reply

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