Leaving the corporate world behind leads to generations of real joy for the Womble family
From the age of 10, Ray had worked in the family business for his father, Ray, Sr. But after graduating from college with a business degree, he took a corporate job and left home.
Big mistake.
“I got out there in the real world…and right quick I knew that the corporate world was not what I wanted to do,” Ray said of those days in the late 1970s. “My dad’s business was growing, so I came back and talked to him one weekend and said, ‘Would you consider me coming back into the business with you?’ And he said, ‘When would you want to start?’”
That was the beginning of the third generation of J.E. Womble & Sons, a full-service hardware store in Lillington, N.C., that was founded by Ray’s grandfather in 1946. Ray started out in the lawn and garden department and has grown it into a multi-million dollar operation.
“Daddy always said he knew that I’d be the person to take his place when he retired one day.”
The lawn and garden department features brand name lawnmowers Snapper Pro, Ferris, BOB-CAT, Husqvarna, as well as Stihl trimmers, chainsaws, blowers, and brushcutters.
“We service everything we sell,” Ray said. “When you buy from us and you have a problem, I have five mechanics in our own small engine shop to look after everything and do our own fixing.”
The employees at J.E. Womble & Sons share traits in common: a diligence to put in an honest day’s work, a sincere desire to help every customer, and skills to show that they genuinely care about people.
“I am blessed to have great employees,” Ray said. “There are mighty fine people out there who have been taught how to work. I cannot teach you a work ethic. The best trait that an employee can give a business owner is diligence. That’s the most important attribute I can find in an employee.”
How will a customer see that diligence when they walk in the store?
“I’m sure you’ve been in a business where you can tell real quick whether they care about the customer’s problem. I tell my employees: when you’re dealing with a customer you concentrate on that customer. You listen to his needs. You try to satisfy his needs.
“It doesn’t matter if your customer comes in your store to buy a $10,000 lawnmower or a one dollar bolt. To him, that dollar bolt is just as important as that lawnmower and we need to treat him the same way. And we do.”
Ray takes pride in offering problem-solving expertise that competitors, such as big box stores, can’t match. Ray calls his customer service his main competitive advantage.
“I had a customer come in with a problem and later he told me, ‘Not only did you put everything together for me, you showed me how to fix it. You guys are amazing,’” Ray recalled.
“That’s what we do. More than sell the product, we’ll tell them how to use it. That’s the way we’ve always done business and that is a thing of the past in this world.”
Ray wants customers to know that he puts a priority on integrity in all areas of his operation—from himself and his employees, to the vendors, such as Carswell Distributing Company, who supply him equipment and parts.
“Carswell is one of my top vendors. They do what they say they’re going to do, back me up when we have a problem, supply me a product in a timely manner, and give me a quality product at a competitive price.
“We sell thousands of different products…I can tell you, the number one thing in my vendor is integrity. If they have that, they’re going to have my loyalty,” Ray said. Ray remembers how savvy his father was about seeing the changing needs in the farming industry and adapting his business to meet them. He sees that same business acumen in his son, Ray III.
Tripp, as he is known, has followed in his father’s footsteps. He, too, got out of a corporate job and back into the family business—the fourth generation—to one day take over for his dad.
“We’ll keep it in the family. That family tradition is important,” Ray said. “Tripp has added a lot to the business. He has developed his own customers. He’s got his own ideas. He’s good with social media and offering our products online…my son was brought up in this technology and it has been tremendously beneficial to our business as we continue to grow.”
Ray knows how happy his customers are when they go home with brand new lawn equipment. He wants to make sure that joy extends long after the sale.
“I tell them, this lawnmower you are buying from us, it’s not perfect. Something may happen to it down the road. But don’t worry. If it does, we are going to look out for you.
“It gets back to caring about your customer. And, really, they know that you can’t fake joy. You can’t fake it to your customer that you care about them.”