S/O I'm Never Shopping There - What Businesses Will Forever Have Your Patronage?

[iradney]

ThinkGeek. Forever and ever. They make buying pressies for Hubster much easier. Because he's one of those that says "anything" to "what would you like for your birthday?".

Also, a little coffee shop down the road called Just Ginns. The owner personally welcomes everyone, the red velvet cake is a.ma.zing and the quality of service is 15/10.

[MsCopper]

Coach. I purchased a gorgeous bag there a few weeks ago. After having it a day or two I realized it just wasn't for me. I returned it no questions asked. A few days later I received a thank you card. A thank you card! That has never ever happened before! I purchase a new coach bag for myself every year. I will continue to do so forever now. I Went to the outlet a few days later and ended up with an awesome bag, matching wallet, and keychain for less than I had originally spent at the regular store.

My Mechanic. Richie. Since November I've pretty much had everything replaced in my 10 year old Mustang. He's given me fair pricing on everything! Never once told me that something that I don't need done needs to be done. He does amazing work. My car is basically brand new again.

Ulta Salon and Makeup stores...  And Sephora..

[siamesecat2965]

My local mechanic has my business forever.

Something broke in my windshield wiper lever so that my wipers would come on whenever I would hit a bump.  Fearing a big repair bill, I lived with it for a long time and then took my car in for an estimate. My mechanic came out and said I had two option: 1) the $300 option of replacing the whole lever, or 2) the free option.  Free???

"Yeah", he said, "I already put a rubber band from the lever to the hazard button.  You'll have to replace the rubber band every few months, but there you go".

He could have charged me $300, but he took care of it with a rubber band.  I will go there forever because I trust him when he says I need a repair.

You just reminded me of my last trip to the mechanic; I was not really getting heat in my car, so I took it in.  I also needed an oil change.  So he looks at it and says you need a thermostat, and while he saw no leak, he saw evidence of leakage from the heating/cooling system.  So he flushed out part of it as he said he wasn't sure if he did the whole thing if it might upset any leak that might be there.  Oh, and I also needed a new battery.  I had told them i might have to wait as i didn't have enough $$ at that moment to do all this, and they said oh no, its January, you need heat, we'll fix it and you pay us when you can.

Fortunately the bill wasn't as much as I thought, so  I was able to cobble together enough to pay them in full.  Then I got home and realized they had not charged me for any labor; just parts.  They are so good to me and their other regulars, and they struggle too, being a small business in this economy.  So I try and refer anyone i can to them for repairs.

[marksgirl]

Sir Pizza is a local pizza joint we have around my hometown. I have been going to it forever ever since I was a baby and still love it.

[sparksals]

I second Nordstrom, whether you're just looking or out to buy a new wardrobe, you get the same level of service.  And they know when to back off and let you be, if that's how you like to shop.

Vera Bradley, whether their CS, signature stores or outlets. Everyone is nice, friendly, and will go the extra mile to help you with whatever you need.

Various Hampton Inns.  My mom prefers them whe we travel since have shown themselves to be the best accessible rooms.  On our trip last year, while it was HC accessible, it wasn't quite.  So my mom, not to criticize, but more to let them know hey, this really doesn't work for someone in a wheelchair, wrote a letter, and the manger called her, and asked for her input on several things she had mentioned, i.e. the shower bench being at the opposite end of the tub from the hand-held shower head, and so on.  And all the ones we've ever stayed in have been clean, neat, and if you need something, they're willing to do what they can to help you get it.

There you go mentioning VB again!  i just posted to you in the other thread that you created a monster!! LOL  I LOVE VERA!  And the best place to buy is online.  So many deals.

[Nika]

Ooh, just thought of another one (because I went there today  ) -- Chipotle. They make an effort to use natural ingredients and you can definitely tell: I tend to feel lethargic after eating at most places, but because their food is natural it doesn't make me feel yucky at all. Also, I love that their portions are so big that you can easily turn it into two meals, they don't skimp on the guacamole like most places do (you'd better really like guac if you get some; they give you a GLOB. Yummy), they have brewed ice tea instead of that awful instant stuff, and and and: they now offer cilantro lime brown rice in addition to the white rice. So good.

[Jones]

I live in a smallish town, so people generally travel 2.5-3 hours to the Big City for their shopping. I have discovered that many of our small stores have great deals, if you go regularly and they learn your face. One local store called The Chalet has nutritional suppliments, I had the opportunity to introduce my celiac SIL to their lower-priced gluten free products. Great customer service too.
Another store, a mix of tools and housewares, is where my hubby and I registered for our wedding. They have a little bit of everything and, though their prices aren't always better than Lowe's, their service is great. I can always find someone to help me locate an item or make a decision. Plus, when I have to buy a kitchen appliance, they have free delivery within the city limits.
We only have two grocery stores in town. My brother makes round trips to the Big City to load up at Costco, but one of our groceries has exceptionally good pricing on cased items twice a year. I get all my canned vegetables, bottled juices, rice and beans there. They have a good bakery, too, which I miss since going gluten free  Fortunately, the other grocery store has well priced gluten free flour and mixes.

[DottyG]

Ooh, just thought of another one (because I went there today  ) -- Chipotle. They make an effort to use natural ingredients and you can definitely tell: I tend to feel lethargic after eating at most places, but because their food is natural it doesn't make me feel yucky at all. Also, I love that their portions are so big that you can easily turn it into two meals, they don't skimp on the guacamole like most places do (you'd better really like guac if you get some; they give you a GLOB. Yummy), they have brewed ice tea instead of that awful instant stuff, and and and: they now offer cilantro lime brown rice in addition to the white rice. So good.

Agree 110%! I love Chipotle! Everything you said is true (I, too, LOVE their guacamole and the brown rice). And I love their ordering system. I can order online in, seriously, 30 seconds and pick it up on my way home. I go there so often that they all know me by name. Ok, that's a little embarrassing!

[SamiHami]

I love the employees at my local Whole Foods.  They are pleasant, always ready to help find anything I need, make serving suggestions if I need them, and they sharpen knives for free in the meat department.

One thing I love about my local Whole Paycheck is that it seems the cashiers are allowed to comp little things for random reasons. On one occasion, I'd had a lousy, frustrating day and was barely holding back the tears while I was in the store. The cashier comped my box of tea for me (and yes, it was comped, not "forgotten" - she put a little orange sticker over the bar code), but I was so upset I didn't even notice until I got home. I really appreciated it when I did, though! On another occasion, BF and I were grabbing a few things, including a mango, and the cashier mentioned that they had champagne mangos on sale (2 for 1 or something like that), and if we wanted to grab a couple she'd comp them for us so we could try them.

They are awesome.

The only one in my area is not very convenient to get to, so I've only been there once. It was great, though. I had gone there specifically for gluten free hamburger buns since I couldn't find them anywhere else, and picked up a couple of other items as well. When the cashier asked if I'd found everything I was looking for, I happily told her how glad I was to have found GF buns, since I hadn't had a burger in months (since my diagnosis). She said that was great and you know what? You can have the buns for free!

[CakeBeret]

Ooh, just thought of another one (because I went there today  ) -- Chipotle. They make an effort to use natural ingredients and you can definitely tell: I tend to feel lethargic after eating at most places, but because their food is natural it doesn't make me feel yucky at all. Also, I love that their portions are so big that you can easily turn it into two meals, they don't skimp on the guacamole like most places do (you'd better really like guac if you get some; they give you a GLOB. Yummy), they have brewed ice tea instead of that awful instant stuff, and and and: they now offer cilantro lime brown rice in addition to the white rice. So good.

Oh, I love Chipotle as well! My son has been eating (and loving!) their guacamole and fajita veggies since he was 8 months old. We even have a picture of him as "Chipotle King" with a chipotle bag fashioned into a crown. The ladies who work there love him and always talk to him, and since cheese is his favorite food, they give him a free side of cheese whenever we go.

[cattlekid]

Men's Wearhouse. 

For our wedding, we had the men in suits instead of tuxes.  DH bought a new suit at Men's Wearhouse a few weeks before our wedding.

Due to stress, he spent the entire week before our wedding not eating and getting ill every other hour. 

So the morning of the wedding, he put on the suit pants and they fell to the floor due to his sudden weight loss. 

DH and the best man high-tailed it to the Men's Wearhouse where the tailor there took in his pants immediately while they finished getting dressed in the dressing room.  They were at the pre-wedding party on time and no one was the wiser. 

We did write an effusive thank you note to the staff at Men's Wearhouse when we got back from our HM and got a nice note in return.

[MommyPenguin]

Ooh, just thought of another one (because I went there today  ) -- Chipotle. They make an effort to use natural ingredients and you can definitely tell: I tend to feel lethargic after eating at most places, but because their food is natural it doesn't make me feel yucky at all. Also, I love that their portions are so big that you can easily turn it into two meals, they don't skimp on the guacamole like most places do (you'd better really like guac if you get some; they give you a GLOB. Yummy), they have brewed ice tea instead of that awful instant stuff, and and and: they now offer cilantro lime brown rice in addition to the white rice. So good.

Oh, I love Chipotle as well! My son has been eating (and loving!) their guacamole and fajita veggies since he was 8 months old. We even have a picture of him as "Chipotle King" with a chipotle bag fashioned into a crown. The ladies who work there love him and always talk to him, and since cheese is his favorite food, they give him a free side of cheese whenever we go.

My husband loves Chipotle.  In fact, when my second daughter was two days old, it was Oct. 31st--free burrito if you dress up like a burrito day!  He swaddled her, then wrapped her in aluminum foil as a burrito costume.  The hospital would *not* let him "borrow" her to take her to Chipotle for his free burrito, though.    So he took a picture of himself holding her, pretending to eat her, then took the camera to Chipotle and showed them (I think he also wrapped his arm or something, too).  They loved it and he got his free burrito. 

[DottyG]

The baby burrito story is so cute!

[DistantStar]

Jones, you sure we don't live in the same town?  We even have a drugstore/hardware store called Chalet.  Not the cheapest, but if you don't want to drive a minimum of 80 miles for something the chances are very high that they will have it.  It's the first place I look for an awful lot of things.

And there is a local chain of three grocery stores (one in each town in the valley) that are all amazingly excellent for small town stores.  The only thing I go to the small (compared to their stores elsewhere) large chain store in one town for are certain frozen items as they have a much larger frozens section than the other stores, and I am not much of a cook.

Not a store, but an insurance company -- USAA.  They earned my loyalty years ago (calculating...half my life ago!    ) by the way they handled a minor accident I was involved in.  If you are eligible, I highly recommend them.

[Jones]

That is so funny! I don't think we live in the same town though; I noticed in another thread you said your local paper publishes twice a week; ourse only publishes once, and many of the articles are borrowed from the Big City papers. I don't recommend it unless you want to keep up on births/deaths.

I thought of another that will have my patronage: Maverick (gas stations). First, the gas is usually average price, never too high. Also, they are almost everywhere I go, they are always clean (with clean bathrooms), they have frozen yogurt, and honestly the workers are usually more friendly than at other gas stations I visit. I don't know if it's training or just good luck, but that seems to hold true at many I've been to.