Nickerson's

Back in June I did a feature article on John Boldt Builders in Structures the Niagara Home Builders Association Newspaper and I was reintroduced to Nickerson's Home Appliances store in St.Catharines, and my wife appreciates it.

A family friend had worked there for many years and I can remember going there as a young child with my grandfather when he was buying a new fridge, but like most people I had been engulfed by BIG BOX STORES and the allure of finding everything you need under one roof. It may be easier to buy your new car tires in the aisle next to wear you find your milk, however what you truly lose is customer service and satisfaction.

About a year ago when I was doing renovations on my home I went to purchase building materials from a large store which I will refer to Orange Depot to protect their identity. I was waiting for a customer service rep to come speak with me about making some cuts to some wood I was buying, so I was waiting I kept looking at other materials while my wife and children were waiting at the saw counter. I was two aisles up from where they were and saw the rep walking towards them talking to a friend about what they did last night, as he got about 10 feet from my wife he turned around and walked away to continue to talk on the phone. For the next 15 minutes I was told by the customer service desk he was on his way but he was dealing with another customer. The rep continued to talk on the phone and walk away from me when I tried to approach him. So I packed up my family and left and went to Rona instead, a smaller store but bigger on customer service and satisfaction.

Now you are thinking how did I get from wood to new appliances at Nickerson's, well when it came time for my wife to remodel and and get new appliances she wanted to go to another BIG BX STORE. I stopped her in her tracks and reminded here of Orange Depot and told here how I just finished dealing with Nickerson's for a feature article I was doing. She recalled a family friend worked there and said sure lets check it out.

I walked into the front of the store and noticed that in the 20 plus years since my last visit it looked a lot smaller(I am only 33 by the way), however as you enter and go down a flight of stairs and check out the show room the store is fairly large. We looked around, noticed a large selection and reasonable prices to what my wife had looked at online for a BIG BOX STORE. We found a few models we liked and I approched one of the several staff members on hand and was lucky enough to get Charlie Jr.

Even though I had dealt with Charlie on the phone with the feature I was doing on John Boldt I had never met him face to face so I kept my identity secret and used my first Jason in my introduction. (I only use my last name in my professional life, a long story for another day. I told him what I was looking for and my budget and he took all that information and crunched some numbers. Now when you see a price sticker at a place like Orange Depot that is the price you pay, however from dealing with Charlie there is some flexibility especially the more you buy.

So what is the moral to the story, well sometimes what we think is convenience and simplicity when dealing with a BIG BOX STORE is really a big sacrifice on our parts for great customer service and satisfaction. I think somewhere along the way we took lowest price to mean the best deal, when in reality it is the best service that truly saves you in the long run.

Next time you are thinking of getting some new appliances contact Charlie or check out his web site.

Charles Nickerson Jr.
Nickerson Appliances
Ph. 905-685-9075
www.nickersonappliances.com