Happy Mother's Day!

I would like to wish all of the Mom's out there a Happy Mother's Day with a special Mother's Day wish to Linda Volquartsen! For our long-time customers, you may remember talking to Mom on the phone or at a show.

Mom has always had a knack for turning what for many would be a business transaction with a customer into much more. Often times that customer would become a long-time friend. I'm always reminded of one story in particular that sums this up.

We had a customer from Florida that she sold a rifle to, and he decided to drive from Florida to our family's house. Yes, we were located in Iowa back then too. Geography was not my strong suit in high school, but even I knew that was a long drive for dinner! Why did he make the trip? He had kept telling Mom about his seafood business and wanted to prepare fresh lobster and crab for our family. He would always joke that we didn't know what good seafood tasted like in Iowa (and he may have had a point). Apparently, he didn't trust a midwestern family to prepare it properly either - again he may have had a point.

This was probably close to 30 years ago, but I remember it like it was yesterday.

As a teenager at the time, I didn't fully understand why a customer would travel all that way. I always knew Mom was able to carry on a conversation with just about anybody. Many times it would be unrelated to the reason they called to begin with. We would always joke when she would hang up from an hour long phone call - "well, are they coming over for dinner?" Little did we know they were!
Once again, at the time, I didn't fully understand how or why this happened.

It's funny how time shifts perspective. Now I look back at the relationships Mom was able to build and how we strive to do the same with our current customers. It's our entire team that looks to that as an example of how a customer should be treated. Mom had laid the groundwork for us to follow.

She taught through actions, not words.

It's always amazing to me the number of customers that stop by our SHOT Show booth to do no more than say hello to Mom!

Mom has since retired from the business, however she is at home in her new role - the "shop baker." For those of you who have visited our shop or tasted her baked goods, you can attest to the fact that her baking rivals that of her customer service skills!

It's nearly impossible to stick to a diet with the aroma of homemade bread, chocolate chip cookies right out of the oven, or one of many other desserts wafting throughout the shop. Nobody seems to be complaining though :).

Happy Mother's Day, Mom!