I should have posted this a few months ago:
I knew we would be putting a rural town at the base of our high Sierra mountain area, but didn't really have a feel for what it should look like. Then I saw the Menards gas station last year. For whatever reason it reminded me of Jeff Bailey's gas station in the classic film noir "Out of the Past" starring Robert Mitchum - even though this model doesn't really look much like the gas station in the film. So we bought it and I now have a loose plan for that town.
Anyway, there is no Menards anywhere within 200 miles so I mail ordered it. This was our very first Menards purchase so I didn't know what to expect. It arrived with no packing material in the box and it was smashed. I called Menards, with low expectations, given we're talking about a minor item for such a big store. They connected me to a manager. She apologized, got the details from me, said to send her a photo when I could and that a replacement would go out that same day. She also said she would follow up with her shipping department and again apologized for my inconvenience. That same day she also sent me an email with a return shipping sticker. The new one arrived expedited shipping and very well packaged - before I could even return the damaged one!
I point this out because good customer service deserves just as much attention as the amount given to poor. Again, this was my first experience with Menards but despite the initial issue, the follow up reinforced my desire to buy from them again due to the level of customer attention and care. Kudos to that manager (wish I could remember her name) and to a well run seller.
Peter
