I was looking through the LL Bean, Inc website for a picture of their original store in Freeport, Maine so that I could try to build a model of that for my layout. I came across some information about the founder, Leon Leonwood Bean. He had some golden rules for business that propelled his outdoor outfitting business from a single man operation to a worldwide enterprise with over $1.4 billion in annual sales. L.L. had a little saying about “what is a customer” and I think it applies as much to a train hobbyist going into a hobby shop as it applies to a customer buying socks to keep his or her feet warm and dry while hunting:
“What is a Customer?
A customer is the most important person ever in this company - in person or by mail.
A customer is not dependent on us, we are dependent on him.
A customer is not an interruption of our work, he is the purpose of it.
We are not doing a favor by serving him, he is doing us a favor by giving us the opportunity to do so.
A customer is not someone to argue or match wits with. Nobody ever won an argument with a customer.
A customer is a person who brings us his wants. It is our job to handle them profitably to him, and to ourselves.”
By the way, since my artistic skills do not get much beyond scribbling with a crayon, does anyone know of someone in our hobby who can build me a model of a building from scratch if I give them the picture and the dimensions?
Yes ! We have a member that goes by the name of " scratch-b- rules ", but he hasn’t been active much this summer. He has built stuff, & sold it on E-bay, I know, & other places. He should be active toward this fall or winter. There may be others that will come along. Now, you may want to give it a whirl yourself. Start by looking up Grandt Line products for windows & see if they have your style of windows. I know Scratch b. even makes his own windows, though. The other parts for walls & siding are pretty much available in the local hobby shops. Let us know if you want to give it a try, & we will help you find all the supplies. Does that building call for brick or stone fronts or walls? Those supplies are all available, too ! Hope we can help. Thanks , John Oh, forgot to mention, that was a nice story on the LL bean business!
I bought a jacket from LL Bean about 15 years ago. Right after I received it , they called and said it had a flaw in the sleeves and asked me to send it back. I said no, they said yes. LL Bean didn’t want a product of theirs out there that wasn’t right. Now that’s customer service.
People remember stuff like that and then tell others. It does make a difference.
Hey, I do need some stone “walls” for my layout. Where does one get that kind of stuff?
I am not sure I can do this specific building myself, because I want it to be accurate. I am going to be building a coal colliery complex out of balsa wood for my layout. I figure that I can have a general idea in my mind of what it will look like, and I will know the footprint of the space available on the layout. It will be built up next to a mountain, which of course will be the coal mine. Anyway, I can add parts to the colliery as I build it, and attach conveyor chutes that go into and out of the “mine”, etc. But for something that I want to have turn out to be as close as possible to the actual original store building, I want to see if someone else will be able to do it for me. So, I’ll keep an eye out for that guy, scratch-b rules. If anyone has an email address for him, please let me know. Thanks!
I would have to say that the statement there is absolutely correct. That is what a retail business is about, the customers. A salesperson should do their best to serve the customer quickly and accurately, and should always be polite.
Working in retail, I believe I have done a pretty good job so far.[:D]
Re: Stone walls. I have some walls I got some of the Pennsy-style walls through Scenic Express and they were first rate. It takes a smidge of effort cutting them for a custom fit (using a box cutter). I believe they are now offering flex versions that can accomodate curves.
Good post Reading. I wish all retailers would follow LL Bean’s principles. However, I guess if that happened there wouldn’t be any competitors! I have had the same excellent dealings with LL Bean.
I also agree that Scratch-B-Rules wold be a good choice to see how he could help you. He displayed many of his creations here and they all looked excellent. With his recent move to Florida from New England, I suspect he is spending much more time outdoors!
I think there are some others ,also.