Try Before You Buy

Conventional wisdom says McMillin's Furniture in Yale never should survived since 1948. For starters, the corner building bought by Charles and Sophie McMillin in 1948 was "jinxed," the townspeople told them. No business had ever survived at that location for more than five years.  Finally, in the 1980s, at a time when many family-owned businesses in small communities were folding, McMillin's expanded to its current 30,000 square foot location. Chuck McMillin, second-generation owner literally grew up with the business-standing by his mother's side as a 12-year-old delivery boy in 1960, then becoming president upon his mother's retirement. "I give my mother credit for teaching me how to treat people, how to run a business, and how to deliver excellent customer service," says McMillin. "I think she would be happy with the progress I've made." McMillin's oldest son, Justin, has joined his father in the family business.  He has attended furniture Industry shows in High Point, North Carolina with his dad since he was 18 so he could better serve customers. McMillin and his wife, Sherry, have two other children: Brett, and Lindsey. As a family business, McMillin's likes to treat customers like family.  McMillin's carries a broad range of furniture and accessories, including home office decor, lighting, clocks, floor coverings, window treatments and wallpaper. The staff of 15 includes three decorators who know how to make all the merchandise in the store work together to create the desired look for a customer's home. "The decorators have been a real plus for us," says McMillin. "People are busy today. We offer them a way to put together a room the way they want it without having to go to several different stores. It's part of giving them good value for their dollar." Value and service are two of McMillin's bywords. He says, "You can have a great building, nice merchandise, fancy trucks, but if you don't have customers, you don't have a business." While that business philosophy hasn't changed since 1948, McMillin has found new ways to implement it. In 1989 the store added a computer system with a customer service program. "We keep customer histories, so we know what they bought, when they bought it, what fabric they selected, when it was delivered, and what problems they've had," McMillin explains. "We track our customer problems, then critique them once a week so we know what we need to do to improve our service. That keeps us ahead of the competition." The store has added a toll-free number and an e-mail address to make it easier for customers to contact the store.  McMillin says that the Michigan Retailers Association has been a big help to him as a small-business person. "I attribute a lot of our success to MRA. The workers' compensation insurance fund, health insurance, the credit card program--they all have been terrific for us," he says. "If I have questions about laws or legislation, I know I can call and get answers. They're like family." Paul Williams, a former MRA board member and retired Yale business owner, is also part of the McMillin's Furniture "family." He does consulting work for McMillin and assists him in critiquing the business and researching future plans for the company's growth. While a lot of small-town furniture stores have gone out of business, his continues to grow." "You have to keep trying new things," he adds. "If you don't keep changing, you'll get rolled over by the competition. Plus, doing new things is more fun and you don't get bored." "This is why working with Harvest Green Mattress was a must for us."  "We know our Customers deserve a Healthy Sleep Option and now we have it"

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