Dealer Profile

When Mike MacKay mentions that personnel are treated “like family,” he’s not just blowing smoke. Some of them actually are family: his wife, Brenda, works in the back office and recently their son jumped into the family business. All of which reinforces Mike’s love of the community and Vassar Building Center’s place in it.

Why do the locals like shopping here? “Customer service is number one. So is quality. Believe me,” both swear, “they come in informed. They’ve already checked everything online.”

Our best customers come via word of mouth—brothers, sisters, neighbors. We’re building second, and third, homes for some of these people. We keep them happy.

“At the site, we’ll never just dump the whole order. We deliver it in a progression, depending on what they need that day—floors, windows. We have 11 vehicles (and don’t charge for delivery), and we can spot loads where no one else can”

“Kruse Kru,” headed by owner Brian Hodge (fifth from left), has always been service-driven.

To keep employees up to speed, Capps schedules Lunch & Learn sessions, sponsored by vendors. “For our staff, it’s like continuing education,” says Bruce.

Derstler Lumber owners Terri and Darrell Derstler were looking for their niche—and found several of them.

New owners relied on the counsel of longtime employees to identify opportunities to rebrand and reinvigorate the Memphis lumberyard.