Texas yards go Espafiol

1|-\NE of the larger trends facing

\-ZTexas lumberyards over the last several years has been the increasing number of Spanish speaking customers-and how best to serve them.

This trend is also occuring throughout the South, especially in states like Florida and Georgia, as Spanish speakers continue to increase across the reeion.

Spanish speakers make up nearly 25Vo of the customer base at Texas lumber yards, according to a Building Products Digest survey of several dozen lumber dealers in the state.

A majority of lumbermen surveyed also expect Spanish speaking customers to increase considerably in the next 10 years. "We see the benefits of catering more each year to Spanish speaking customers," said Bob Burns, West End Lumber Co., Houston. "The Census figures show us that (Spanish speakers) will be the largest single area of growth of any population group in Houston."

Burns said that Spanish speakers now make up 3OVo of West End's business, and he conservatively predicts an increase of l5-207o over the next decade.

Mary Cunningham, Circle Hardware & Lumber Co., Waco, reported that 45Vo of her customers are Spanish speakers and she expects that figure to continue growing.

Cunningham said that Circle Hardware makes an effort to specifically target Spanish speakers. "We advertise in a weekly Spanish publication and have had customers come from as far away as 45 miles to shop with us." she added.

Temple-based Lengefeld Lumber Co.'s Spanish speaking customers are now 15Vo and growing, according to Bruce Walker, who emphasized that in larger Texas markets Spanish speakers can no longer be ignored. "I hear talk of the Dallas and Houston markets having framing crews that are over 90% Spanish speaking," he added.

More than half of those surveyed (527o) said that the majority of their

Spanish speaking customers were professional contractors. Thirty percent were d-i-yers, with the remaining percentage a mixture of pro and commercial customers.

Dennis Eberhard, Eberhard Lumber, New Braunfels, reported that most of his Spanish speaking customers were subcontractors in the roofing Sheetrock or foundation business.

He believes this pro market will grow, noting that Spanish speakers are increasingly a large percentage of those working in the trade professions.

Also looking at the pro side for growth, Ken Hass, Emanuel Lumber Co., Azle, noted, "Spanish speaking workers are taking over a lot of the trades that pay well, and will soon be the contractors we will be serving."

Dealers reported that, on average, about one quarter (23Vo) of their staff had the ability to help Spanish speaking customers. The level of language ability ranged from part-time student workers with high school Spanish skills to completely fluent employees.

"Local independent hardware and lumber dealers are sending a lot of business to the big boxes by not having a bilingual staff member," Hass said.

Bob Reed, Ed Harris Lumber Co., Hart, numbered Spanish speakers as much as 507o of his business, yet he still fears customers are slipping away. "I've found many (Spanish speakers) will travel at least 35 miles to box stores thinking they will save money. It has hurt our business a lot."

Many dealers see that the only way to serve this population is to hire more bilingual employees.

Stephen Phillips, Phillips Lumber Co., Murphy, agreed: "We are in an area that has a rapidly growing Spanish population. Over the next l0 years, we will have bilingual salespeople and shipping personnel because of the expected increase."

Some Texas dealers are personally trying to speak the language of their new customers.

Fred Amerson. Seale-Amerson

Lumber & Building Center, Amarillo, said although none of his staff speaks Spanish fluently, "being able to speak Spanish would help. I personally bought a CD two weeks ago to relearn the Spanish I took in high school 30 yeafs ago."

Other companies, such as Langwood Lumber Co., Houston, are dealing with a Spanish speaking customer base that is as much as 757a of their business-and growing.

"We expect an increase in the number of Spanish speaking customers," said Langwood's Gilbert Mitschke. "We support them in their efforts to establish charge accounts and accommodate their needs."

A few yards surveyed, however, had not been affected by the rise of Spanish speaking customers across the state, estimating Spanish speakers as less than l%o of their business.

To target the emerging customer base, David Scurlock, Hays Lumber & Building Materials, Buda, has made customer service a top priority. "If we have a customer that does not speak English," he said, "we do everything we can do to take care of him and make him feel more comfortable."

In addition to adding bilingual employees, 52Vo of dealers stated that they now have some kind of bilingual information in their stores, such as signs, literature, product labels and safety information.

According to Bob Burns, West End Lumber Co., "We cater to Spanish speaking customers through sales literature, application instructions, training videos and credit application instructions."

Multiple-unit Cashway Building Materials "uses (bilingual) signs, and most Ace Hardware items have bilingual directions," said Robin Bledsoe.

Although in a state as geographically and demographically diverse as Texas, the future impact of Spanish speaking customers will vary from yard to yard, Jim Ivy, Wallace Lumber Co., Post, summed up the feelings of many: "The best is yet to come."