People Strategies: New doesn't always mean improved for customers

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Linda Bower is a speaker, executive coach and human performance improvement consultant in Rogersville.|ret||ret||tab|

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This is a story about a little country store that made a difference in the lives of many people for the past 40 years or so. It starts with Bill Plaster's dream to build a general store in Rogersville.|ret||ret||tab|

He named it Hillbilly Bills. He made his house into a storefront and earned a solid reputation for integrity in the community.|ret||ret||tab|

According to local legend, things were a little rough when John Crighton bought Hillbilly Bills from Plaster. Crighton had a different approach that took some getting used to. But there was no community devastation like has happened since the place was sold again about two years ago.|ret||ret||tab|

There was something very special about the Crightons and how they served the community with their business. They didn't have a formal marketing strategy, they just saw themselves as "problem-solvers." Three guys ran the place: John, his son Mike, and their friend, Roger. They didn't have specific roles or responsibilities; they just did what needed to be done.|ret||ret||tab|

By the time I moved here in 1999, Hillbilly Bills was the heart and soul of a 10-mile radius. It was the place to buy convenience items, hardware, feed and tack. Part of its charm was that every week a group of men collected on five-gallon buckets and always around an ashtray. They knew everyone's business and involved themselves in various pranks. |ret||ret||tab|

For example, the board, as they called themselves, thought they would fool the city girl by suggesting that I needed a snake trap. They went so far as to disguise a regular animal trap and put a price tag on it. They worried that I would notice that dust had been disturbed on the shelf. I didn't fall for it, but that didn't ruin their story, full of good cheer. |ret||ret||tab|

If I needed gasoline, milk, cash or bird seed, I went to Hillbilly Bills. If I needed to know who to hire for plumbing, I called Hillbilly Bills. |ret||ret||tab|

If I needed help setting up a pulley system to exercise my wounded shoulder, I went to Hillbilly Bills. I never even looked at a price tag.|ret||ret||tab|

Hillbilly Bills wasn't just a store, it was where anyone went to solve a problem. It was where anyone went to find out how Mike Webster was doing after open-heart surgery and if he was walking enough daily.|ret||ret||tab|

Then the inevitable happened. John Crighton retired. Roger had already left for a "real job" and Mike was ready to do something else.|ret||ret||tab|

As a family corporation, the new owners held promise. No one blamed them for hiring a manager instead of operating the store themselves, that's the way they worked. But then the changes started. |ret||ret||tab|

OK, so Hillbilly Bills was a little dark. I never noticed until the new owners put in lights that were so bright I literally wore my sunglasses inside for a few months until they fixed it. The ambience was gone in one decision.|ret||ret||tab|

Then the change in marketing strategy shocked the regulars. Well, the shock was that we were being marketed to. |ret||ret||tab|

Suddenly there were new fancy displays where the guys used to sit on their buckets. I and many other people were suddenly invisible in a place that had been like home.|ret||ret||tab|

My life here hasn't been the same. I no longer send e-mails to my friends full of hilarious stories about Hillbilly Bills. I am lonelier. I go to town more often. |ret||ret||tab|

Now there is word that the original building will be torn down and a new, super-store is being planned by the owners. From the outside, it looks like they are catering to the truck drivers that rely on Highway 125. It feels more like shopping at a truck stop than a country store. |ret||ret||tab|

Maybe they don't need the local business. I wish they would. I'd like to see them strive to earn the name Hillbilly Bills. Start with having every employee know what's on the shelves, where it is located and how to use it. |ret||ret||tab|

Then maybe put a few buckets out. Smoking isn't necessary. |ret||ret||tab|

Come back, Hillbilly Bills, come back.|ret||ret||tab|

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