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Customer service drives loyalty at longtime hardware
store
by
Brett Lieberman
Virginia Business
February 2005
The
cramped aisles of Cherrydale Hardware & Garden Center
probably don’t look much different than they did
during World War II when Scott Silby’s father
maintained an account at the Arlington County store.
The terrazzo floor is cluttered with aluminum garbage
cans and shovels, and shelves bulge with screws, light
bulbs and odds-and-ends ranging from clam steamers to
a gumball machine.
In
a retail age dominated by big-box stores, Cherrydale
is a dinosaur. The entire store could fit neatly into
a couple of aisles at the nearest Home Depot, four miles
away in Falls Church. Yet, the local hardware continues
to thrive after 70 years in one of the nation’s
most prosperous counties. “We know what we know
and don’t know,” says Silby, who has worked
part time at the store for 10 years.
What he and other employees offer is customer service.
It’s not unusual for workers to congregate near
the store’s front where they often employ a team
effort to address customer questions on everything from
leaky faucets to electrical problems. “We don’t
say that we’re experts, but we try to get you
through lots of little things,” says Wendell Moore,
the store’s assistant manager.
Cherrydale isn’t the largest independent hardware
store in Northern Virginia where thousands of these
once common businesses still flourish. While large chains
such as Home Depot and Lowe’s account for the
bulk of sales nationally, independents still represent
half the nation’s 20,000 hardware stores, according
to the National Retail Hardware Association.
Cherrydale blends in well in Arlington County, which
despite its prosperity and proximity to Washington,
D.C., has no Home Depots or Lowe’s. “We
all go to Cherrydale if we need something,” says
Barbara Favola, the former chairman of the Arlington
County Board of Supervisors. In fact, despite being
home for nearly 200,000 people and close to the Pentagon
and Ronald Reagan National Airport, the county has only
two big-box stores — a Costco and a Best Buy.
A lack of space, local zoning to control growth, a willingness
to pay more for service and a desire to support local
business contribute to the longevity and success of
small businesses here. While the federal government
employs about half of the county’s work force,
many of the rest of the population work for small businesses.
More than 81 percent of the county’s 5,298 businesses
employ 19 or fewer workers.
That’s not to say there are no national retailers.
Apple Computer, Barnes & Noble and Whole Foods are
among the chain stores. “Our impression is it’s
very expensive, but we kind of like to utilize all these
neighborhood shops because they’re so nice and
the service is great,” veterinarian Kathleen Handerhan
says of Cherrydale Hardware and the other local businesses.
Located in a former A&P grocery store since around
1937, Cherrydale has been owned by Jackie Bradbury’s
family since her father-in-law purchased the business
in 1965. Jackie and her husband Larry took it over in
1992, and she’s been running the business since
his death in 1997.
Cherrydale may not have Home Depot’s selection
or its prices, but it’s the kind of place where
customers can get help with a troublesome dimmer switch.
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