When I was a kid, my favorite time of year wasn’t Christmas. It was the week before school started up in the fall when you got to buy all of your school supplies for the next year. I don’t need to buy school supplies anymore, but believe me when I tell you I’m equally enamored with office supplies.
Walking into Hayes Office Products, located in a historic building at the corner of South Broad and West Main Streets, is like a trip to a candy store for me. The shelves are lined with office supplies in all shapes, sizes, colors and quantities. No matter what I seem to go in for, I always end up wandering around looking star struck. Which is probably why I never realized how much they actually offer until I spent a few hours there.
Once Retail Manager Christine Walker took me under her wing, it didn’t take me long to pick up on the fact that their slogan, “Your Partner in Everything Office” is more than just a tag line.
The first thing I learned is that Christine and everyone else at Hayes takes their role as a “partner” to local businesses very seriously. They are committed to providing a personal touch and going “above and beyond” with each customer interaction, and the pride they take in serving communities in and around Chenango County is evident in everything they do. With that attitude, it’s no wonder the place has a “mom and pop” feel, which is entirely appropriate, as the business has been family owned and operated for more than 20 years. Chris and Missy Hayes, who bought the business from Chris’ parents, run it with the help of Chris’ brother, Mike, and their tight-knit staff.
In addition to the office supplies they are known for, Hayes also sells new and used office furniture and logo-ed promotional items. They also provide services such as printing, faxing, shredding and design of business cards, invitations and custom forms. Missy does much of the design work, and the day I was there, she was practically inundated with orders for customized graduation announcements and invitations.
Chris is heavily involved on the furniture side, and often does custom office designs for clients. They’re particularly proud of the fact that they provided the furniture for both the DCMO BOCES remodel and the Chenango County Public Safety Facility.
Hayes also offers packing and shipping services. As I helped (OK, watched) Christine expertly pack a collection of framed artwork for shipping, she explained her philosophy about packing up other people’s valuables. Even if it takes a little more time or materials, she goes the extra mile to make sure those items get to their destination in one piece.
While the holidays are a particularly busy time, they do a large volume all throughout the year. They often ship eBay orders, and estate items. And you wouldn’t believe some of the things they’ve shipped for people. Missy and Christine said they have packed up everything from a frozen fish head (being sent off for testing) to antiques. After seeing their technique, I’m sure each has been handled with care.
Now, lets go back to my favorite: the office supplies. While much of what you need can be found on their shelves, those items only represent a fraction of what Hayes actually offers. The rest are included in the hefty catalog they distribute to their commercial customers (and have on hand in the store). For me, that catalog is better than the Sears Wishbook we all drooled over as kids. It gives you access to an inventory which rivals even the largest of the large office supply superstores, and nearly any item can be here within 24 hours. If you’re a business customer, you can even have it delivered right to your door.
And that’s how I spent the rest of my day: Driving around with Reese Laundry delivering office products around Chenango County. Hayes delivers every day to customers in Norwich, and on alternating days they deliver to customers to the north and south as well. They go all the way north to Hamilton and Waterville, west to Oneonta and south to Binghamton, which I think is an impressive reach for a small town store.
Their strategy for getting into those larger markets, where there is significantly more competition, is to get their foot in the door with their office furniture. Then they reel them in with their exceptional customer service and personal attention.
Reese and I made the rounds of Norwich, stopping at churches, small offices as well as a few county buildings and BOCES. There was that personal touch again, as Reese easily conversed with customers.
After we’d finished the Norwich part of the route, he dropped me back off at Hayes and continued on to New Berlin and beyond without me. I was a little disappointed to part ways, actually. I felt like I was making the rounds with Santa, bringing office supply cheer to all the good little businesses.
I left Hayes Office Products that day with a new respect for all that they do. So often we hear small businesses lamenting that they can’t compete with large retailers, but here we have an example of a company who not only can compete, but does. They do so by capitalizing on their unique strength, which is their knowledge of the people and communities they serve. With this, they rise above the rest.