In little ole Santa Ynez, everyday there’s a beehive of activity at Harrison’s Hardware store.
Painters, electricians, construction workers and ranchers hit it early, when they open at 7 a.m. Sales to ranches are estimated to be 60 to 70 percent of their business.
Very often there are last-minute shoppers right up to 5:30 p.m. So it’s no wonder they have a large staff. Sometimes women come in holding up an odd item and say, “What is this and where can I find it?”
Standing by to help you, there are Jack and Jay Harrison, the owners and a bunch of their kids: Tom, Chance, and Heather Ainsworth and her husband Glen. Then there are longtime employees Chris Jacobsen (who’s also a musician, drummer and guitar) and Zaca Barlow, as well as Rick Hunter and Ricky Hunter, Dan Mollo, Gary Hirzel, and Brad Barr.
Counting the money might be cashiers Jimmie Thompson, Mary Field, Teri Romero or Clarissa Selders. Counting the flowers you’ll find Jim Whitesell, Danny Brand and Ben Guerrero.
Hidden away in the office is manager Janet McIntosh, who adds up the numbers with Pamela De La Mater. They also put out a report on all the items sold, so it is clear what must be ordered and re-stocked.
But the queen of Harrison’s Hardware Store is 96-year-old Hazel Sechler. It’s because of Hazel that we get to enjoy the popcorn on Saturdays. She revs up the machine and then look out, everybody!
Chris Jacobsen has been there for 22 years.
“I love working here,” he says. “It’s like helping your friends every day. We try to buy American-made products and guide our customers to them. In helping people, speed is the king; people like to find things fast. I guess after a while, I just kind of gravitated toward the paint department and it has changed a lot. We used to have to try to match color by eyesight. Now it’s all done by computer and you can match a color exactly. We even take training classes. Solvents are now being reformed, and California is the strictest state.”
Don Mollo tells me each salesman has their own area but they all know the whole store, even the cashiers. Shelves are restocked with the help of the weekly sales reports.
“We have the new guys re-stock returned merchandise, which helps them learn the location of items, and we re-stock twice a week. Sometimes, we’ll have 10 big bins of replacements in the electrical department.
“We try to have a big selection of various things, so people don’t have to drive to another town. We even have an arts and crafts department. Paints and nursery have very big sales. All the salesmen are hired on a basis of their knowledge of one specific area, like Jimmy Whitesell who just loves plants and flowers!”
Source:http://syvnews.com/lifestyles/columnist/hijinks-at-the-hardware-store/article_08e1640c-46f9-11e1-a15c-001871e3ce6c.html
