SHENANDOAH - Family Dollar in Shenandoah opened its doors Thursday morning for the first day of business at its new location, with customers arriving to look over the store and pick up some items.
The parking lot began to fill quickly in the morning, but some local residents decided to walk from their homes at the west end of the borough to their new neighborhood store.
Walking into the store, customers were greeted by employees, something that store manager Crystal Hess wants to see every time.
"They'll always greet you when you come in," Hess said about the employees. "That's my biggest thing is that you're greeted when you come in the door. I know a lot of retail companies don't do that. You walk in the door and don't even know anybody's there. You'll always know someone is here. Even if I'm in the back of the store, you'll get a 'Hello!' "
Customer service is a major part of being a Family Dollar store. That aspect showed on Thursday when the store opened before its scheduled 9 a.m.
"We weren't going to open until 9, but there was an older gentleman outside who has been here every day since we started putting together the store. We couldn't deny him one more day so we opened at 8:30 p.m.," Hess said. "He was so excited that I had to let him in. We're quite busy this morning."
The first day open was considered a "soft open," where the store opens with no major fanfare. The official grand opening will be July 26.
"The grand opening and ribbon-cutting will be next Saturday," Hess said. "We will have giveaways and a cake."
The store was expected to open earlier this year, but Hess said she is glad it finally opened.
"We were slated to open February or March, but issues do come up, but we are open now and we're happy to be back in Shenandoah," Hess said. "We were here before and the store did quite well."
The first Family Dollar in Shenandoah was originally located on the unit block of North Main Street and then moved to the Gold Star Plaza. The store closed about two years ago.
"We have eight girls now - two assistant managers and six cashiers," Hess said. "That's usually the norm for a store this size. The assistants are full-time and probably one or two cashiers are going to be full-time. The rest are part-time. One employee transferred from our Pottsville store."
Hess walked through the store and pointed out the many items in the inventory.
"We have a little bit of everything," Hess said. "We have clothing for families, from newborn to adults, including plus sizes for men and women. We have our brands and name brands. We have over 2,500 name brand food items in our food section. Also there are names brands in health and beauty aids, cosmetics, bulk pet foods. We have everything you would need to run a home. We have bread and milk. We have 10 freezer doors and 10 cooler doors with a variety of every kind of food."
Hess said the staff come from the local area.
"Everyone working here is local, except me," said Hess, who lives in Berwick and also manages the Family Dollar in that borough. "I am also a TSM (training store manager) for the district, so I do all the training. My father has a cabin in Ringtown, so I know the area and have some ties to it."
Except for the coolers and freezer, the building was empty on July 7, but the next day saw the beginning of the installation of shelving, the checkout counter and stocking of merchandise.
"It went together quick. We started last Tuesday with a completely blank building. There wasn't a thing. All these girls and one guy unloaded all these shelves from a freight truck," Hess said. "From that day until the opening, they have done it all."
Neil DeLuca was shopping in the store during its opening hour, walking from his home on West Coal Street near Glover's Hill. He said he was happy to see a store like Family Dollar in the western part of the borough.
"I can walk over to here. This is going to be a benefit for the people down here in the west of town," DeLuca said. "Now all they (Family Dollar) have to do is keep the line on prices. From what I've checked, there are good prices here so far. The big thing today with the economy, money is exceptionally tight, and wherever you go to get the best buys, you stock up. It's a message to the retailers - keep your prices down and you'll sell more and do more business."
Another happy shopper was Joanne Thornton, who also walked to the store from her West Washington Street home.
"I think it's wonderful," Thornton said. "It's nice to have something like this in Shenandoah. "It's a big selection. More than I thought it would be. A lot more. And the prices are nice. There were a lot of people waiting for this. I can walk to Boyer's and come right over here."
The store is open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday through Saturday.