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Folks, it is with a heavy heart that I must inform you that Dot and Jim of Sidetrack Hobbies will be leaving today after being with the store for nearly 10 years. Those of us who were fortunate enough to know Dot and Jim will give nothing but positive praise of their great service and professionalism. Without them and Sidetrack itself I personally would never have gotten into of the wonderful world of O-Gauge trains. For more than five years I enjoyed the drive down to the store, whether it was to make a purchase or just to browse. It was bittersweet stopping in today, knowing it would the final time I would be greeted with the familiar warm welcome and light conversation. They will be greatly missed and I wish them the best in their retirement!

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What the .....  Those two have been with SideTrack for as long as I have been going there, and I have been going there a looooooong time.  I Talk to Jim a lot, and he was very knowledgeable on their products.  Dot was always a joy to see and talk to when you first entered the building.  I was going to go down there today to pick up a BPC2 but decided to wait; wish I went.  They will be missed.

Sidetrack Hobbies is a first-class operation all around.  Al and Libby are terrific co-owners, who I always enjoying talking with at York.  But easily 70-80% of my phone transactions were always handled by Dottie and Jim.  Anytime I'd call, they'd ALWAYS treat me with the utmost professionalism -- much, MUCH more than I receive when calling my power, telephone, or cable utility customer service phone number.  Jim and Dottie could run circles around Corporate America's vision of customer service any day, anytime.  Whenever I'd order something, they'd always PLEASANTLY check stock to be sure they had what I wanted.  And in some cases, I'd ask them "How many do you have?" -- in case I was thinking of buying a bunch of something... like when I recently purchased a variety of MTH Scaletrax items.

This hobby has certainly garnered its share of "stereotype" store owners and store clerks who've earned the reputation of being grumpy folks -- often making consumers wonder why they're even working behind the counter (or on the other end of the phone) to begin with.  Jim, Dottie, Al, and Libby are the EXACT OPPOSITE of those "stereotypes", and I will certainly miss Jim's and Dottie's voices when calling in future purchases at Sidetrack Hobbies.  They made the phone calls very pleasant and worthwhile.  It was never a chore speaking with them.   I never met Jim or Dottie in person, but I wish I had.  They seemed to be really nice folks.... and represented the epitome of great customer service!  

Wishing them all the best in their retirement!

David

Last edited by Rocky Mountaineer

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