Made In The USA

Lowes recently paid $2.2 million to settled a class action lawsuit by job applicants who claimed the information contained in background checks run by the retailer violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act.  Similarly, a class action was recently filed in California federal court against Robert Half International Inc. by an Ohio man who accuses the…

Providing outstanding customer service is the lifeblood of any successful business. Ultimately it doesn’t matter how many promotions that you offer or prices that you discount. Unless you are successful getting the majority of first time buyers to return to your store, your business won’t be profitable for long. Since it costs significantly more to…

You cannot listen to any successful coach motivating his team for long without hearing the phrase “just do your own jobs!” This is a deceptively simple statement that can have nearly universal impact and benefits. In sports, what the coach is saying is simply that when everyone on the team does what is expected of…

One of the common mistakes that managers make is assuming that their staff members know more than they actually do. Never presume since “we covered that during orientation” or “it’s in the employee handbook” that any given message was fully understood and absorbed by your personnel. The tendency is to barrage new staff with information…

Hartville, Ohio is home to America’s largest independent home center at 305,000 sq. ft. In the middle of Hartville Hardware sits a 1,850 sq. ft. “American House” – which was featured in the March 2013 issue of Home Channel News magazine – that is constructed entirely of “Made in the USA” products. Every product, from…

There is a famous saying that states, “Sometimes you must lose a few battles in order to win the war”. I find that this attitude may apply when working with today’s customers as well. Let me explain. Potential customers have more information available to them than ever before. Access to this knowledge makes some feel……