IDEA File

The Old Fashioned Way

Tomasini's Rex Ace H-a*are & country Store, Petaluma, Ca., has survived since 1907 by solving problems the old-fashioned way-even if that means a sale is not involved.

Here's an example: When a customer came into the store and said the latch on her sliding door had come loose and fallen into the frame, a store employee loaned her a magnet to retrieve the latch and explained how to reattach it.

"He could have sold me the $26 kit and made money, " recounts the customer, after returning the magnet to the store.

"I've always tried to be a little different," says Jeff Tomasini, who has owned the store for 29 years. "We revolve around the homeowner. It's good, old-fashioned service. We'll take a lamp into the back and fix it. If we're not swamped, we'll do anything for you."

Tomasini says that his goal is to "to have it all, so people don't have to run all over town. We may not sell a hundred of certain items a week, but we don't care. A lot of places don't carry the things that don't move." For example, the store carries fans in the winter, heaters in the summer, and canning supplies all year long.

The store is also known for treating its employees well.

"I've had resentment toward management," says Tomasini of previous jobs.

"That's not here. I don't expect them to do anything I don't do." He gets there at 5:30 a.m. to sweep, re-stock, take out the trash, and clean the bathrooms, whatever needs to be done.

"I prefer seasoned employees who know what they're talking about," he says. "Most of my guys have had their career. They're semi-retired and know their stuff."

The country store half of the business is run by Tomasini's wife, Gro. "We're two stores in one," he says. "She keeps trying to encroach on my space."

When the store burned in 2006, Tomasini was "astonished and touched" by how much the community cared and how badly they missed the store. "I knew they got what we're trying to do here," he says. One of the many signs tied to the fence that surrounded the charred ruins read, "Hurry up, Jeff. I need a new toilet plunger."

When it came time to rebuild, Tomasini was determined that the new store be as much like its old-fashioned predecessor as possible. As an example, fewer nails were used during installation of the hardwood floor, so it would creak like the old one had. "Although the feel isn't quite the same, it's close," he says. He also "hides" the computers and prices items with a tag, which are rung up by hand.

"Shopping's supposed to be fun," he says. "Sometimes I sit up here in my upstairs office and it sounds like a party down there."

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