McIngvale: Don't drop babies — or customers
By Jeff Linville -- Furniture Today, September 3, 2001
SAN DIEGO — Dedication to consumers and an unconventional approach are two of the secrets of success of Jim McIngvale, owner and president of Gallery Furniture in Houston, who spoke at the GERS Retail Systems user conference.
"Mattress Mac," as he is known, relentlessly promotes his store with aggressive advertising and community involvement.
A big sports fan, he was the lead sponsor in college football's Gallery Furniture.com Bowl. When WNBA star Cynthia Cooper retired last year, McIngvale threw a party at his store and presented her with a $25,000 check as a "prize" for winning a game of horse against a Gallery employee.
In each of the last five years, he said, students in the University of Houston's marketing program have rated his ads the worst on television — but they bring in customers. And customers are the most important part of business, he said. He expects his salespeople to serve everyone who shops at Gallery.
"Customers are not an interruption in your day," he said. He elicited laughs when he asked, "How many babies are the nurses in a maternity ward allowed to drop in a day?" None, he said, so why let difficult customers walk out the door?
McIngvale said his office is a desk just inside the front door; he is the first person consumers see when they walk in.
He said he has been influenced by the unorthodox methods and success of customer-friendly Southwest Airlines. Gallery spends $25,000 a month on free cookies, pies and beverages for shoppers and guarantees same-day delivery for purchases made by mid-afternoon.
Over the summer, Gallery had record sales, but wasn't earning much of a profit on those purchases.
On June 8, a storm dumped 35 inches of rain on the Houston area in six hours. Homes were destroyed, possessions were ruined. Rather than take advantage of the need for new furniture and mattresses, he called Simmons and arranged to buy bedding sets at a discount. The store sold, at cost, 17,000 sets in two months.
July sales were up 50% from last year but profit margins were down. McIngvale said he doesn't care because he was building friendships that people will remember.
He also challenged his fellow retailers to replace older salespeople using outdated techniques with "young go-getters." Old people already have furniture and might buy just a recliner, he said, but it's young adults who need furniture and they will respond better to someone closer to their own age, he said.
|
