TAS Case Study Bicycle Shop
After eight years of brisk business, Wayne “Mick” McLellan, owner of Sprocket Cyclery, had built up a profitable business. In addition to the 15,000 square foot shop on East Main Street, Mick opened a second store in an adjacent tourist community serving a nearby national park.
Soon the second location was outperforming his original store. Cyclists from across North America visited his shop as they explored the many bike trails in the nearby park.
But when both store managers quit within a few months of each other, Mick decided to close his original store and concentrate on the more profitable location.
He sold his large retail space and had thirty days to vacate. His goal was to shut down that operation, but he underestimated how much the local people depended on Sproket, the only bicycle shop serving this community of 70,000.
They persuaded him to keep the store open.
Mick moved his shop to a much smaller 2,000 square foot facility near his old location.
He downsized his inventory, relying on drop-shipments rather than a large in-store stock. And he changed his hours to weekday evenings only, when most of the locals stopped in. Conversely, most of the business at his second store occurred mornings and weekends.
This would allow him to keep both stores open without the need to find replacement managers.
Then he made one more change, one he credits as key in helping him effectively manage both stores: he hired a telephone answering service. They answer all the calls for both locations, 24/7.
They take messages and can check on order and repair status using a secure backdoor access to Mick’s store computer. Callers are generally pleased,
The answering service answers every call quickly and treats each caller professionally. Mick no longer has to leave repair projects or abandon customers to answer the phone. Because of the answering service, Mick can concentrate on what needs his attention most.
“I work until noon at the second store. I take the afternoon off and work evenings at the first store. The answering service sends me a text of each important message and emails me a summary of all the calls each morning.”
Today, he is making the most of his time and running both shops effectively.
“It’s still a lot of work,” said Mick, “but I’m getting everything done that I need to. My quality of life is better because I’m not feeling so torn or working so much – and business has never been better.”
He hired a couple of teenagers to staff the second store in the afternoon and to give him a couple days off each week at the first store.
“But the answering service is the key that made this all possible. It’s been a great ride.”
Read more in Peter Lyle DeHaan’s book The Profitable Answering Service.
With over three decades of industry experience, Peter is the publisher and editor-in-chief of TAS Trader, covering the telephone answering service industry.