After Ferdia Homevalue in Ardee, County Louth collected the prestigious Customer Service Excellence in Leinster award at the 2022 United in Excellence Awards, Building Ireland sat down with store manager Eamonn Kerr to find out more about the broad range of value-added, customer-focused products and services provided daily to an ever-increasing number of homeowners, DIY enthusiasts, builders and farmers across the North East, the capital and beyond.
Ireland’s premier hardware and builders’ merchant stores were honoured at the annual United in Excellence Awards in the Slieve Russell Hotel in County Cavan, where one of the big winners on the night was Ferdia Homevalue, who struck gold in the Customer Service Excellence in Leinster category.
Formerly ‘The Store’, Ferdia Homevalue – spread across more than 40,000 sq. ft. of retail space and providing customers from counties Louth, Meath, Monaghan, Cavan, Dublin Kildare and further afield with a comprehensive range of building and plumbing supplies, hardware, soft furnishing, gardening products, paints, tools, bathroom furniture and accessories, tiles, flooring, carpets, landscaping products, etc. – has gone from strength to strength since joining the Homevalue group and relocating to its spacious, brand-new, state-of-the-art premises in Ardee Enterprise Centre in 2020.
Manager Eamonn Kerr was delighted to be recognised for excellent customer service at the United in Excellence Awards and was quick to dedicate this success to the store’s knowledgeable, professional, conscientious and hardworking team:
“Winning this award is a good endorsement for the company and more so for our staff,” the Ardee man notes. “It’s a staff award really and it’s always nice to get any award. As part of the judging process, we had mystery shoppers calling into the store and it’s reassuring to hear back that our customer service is of the standard we expect.”
Is retail all about customer service ultimately? “Service is a big part of it and that’s what gets you repeat business,” says Eamonn, “But there are a variety of things that contribute to a successful store and you need to be strong in all these areas – service, product variety and quality, price. So it’s not just about service, but service definitely brings people back.”
As they are the ones who deal with the public, the staff at Ferdia Homevalue are the ones who are responsible for implementing the superb levels of customer service excellence for which Eamonn’s team are renowned near and far.
“They are all trained and experienced, but a lot of it comes down to common sense. For the older generation in particular, good customer service comes naturally to them and we are fortunate to have a lot of great people working here. It comes naturally to most of them and you can see that when you employ them.”
Building customer relationships is important, as is affording the same attention and care to every customer old and new. “We cover a very large catchment area now and we’d have a lot more people dropping in. You wouldn’t know them all but a customer is a customer and you treat them all equally,” Eamonn confirms.
“Product knowledge is a big thing. A lot of times when a customer comes in, they don’t know exactly what they are looking for. A lot of them will go out with something different to what they had in mind when coming in. Our people can give great advice on all the products and that’s all part of the service.
“We have a big store and we cover a vast amount of stuff. We are unique because we cover everything from furniture and dining room tables to floors and carpets – with a free measuring and fitting service – to tiles, paints, all home furnishing and then up to the heavy end for builders. There is nobody else in the North East covering such a wide spread of stuff.
“We stock everything you need to furnish a new home from top to bottom including paints, lights, lamps, bedding and mattresses, bathrooms and tiles. Every part of the business is growing and our catchment area is expanding, too, so things are going very well.”
Joining the Homevalue group and relocating to the new premises on the site of the old linen factory on the outskirts of town has been the catalyst behind the recent growth of the business: “We started in the old church in Ardee town in 2018, with 10,000 sq. ft. covering just interiors and paints,” Eamonn recalls. “We were initially trading as Ferdia Store, then ‘The Store’ and have been Ferdia Homevalue since 2020.
“Joining the Homevalue Group has been the difference between success and failure, especially in the building end. If you’re not in a group, you don’t have the same buying power, support and access to new accounts. It would be very difficult for any independent business to survive without that.”
Homevalue is one of Ireland’s leading DIY, hardware and homeware groups with a network of over 90 Guaranteed Irish accredited stores nationwide, who are committed to providing the best range of products at the lowest price. Whether you’re building, repairing, improving, furnishing or decorating your home, Homevalue has got you covered. Homeowners, DIY enthusiasts and professional tradespeople alike will testify that Homevalue means real value and real expertise.
“Being part of Homevalue has been invaluable to us and they are a great company,” Eamonn continues. “We were part of a different group previously and by comparison Homevalue are way more proactive and give us much better support. To be honest, we have been very pleasantly surprised by what they can do and we wouldn’t be here without them. We enjoy a very good rapport with them and they look after us well and deal with our problems. They are a great group and we are delighted to be part of that network.”
Currently generating direct employment for a team of 17 full time and six part time, operating a fleet of five lorries and two vans, it’s onwards and upwards for this award-winning store. “We’re in the process of purchasing an acre of land next door. We’re going to expand the yard and put up a new shed, while also expanding the old shed into the shop area. That expansion will create work for another two or three people.
“We’re always on the look-out for staff, especially people with knowledge and skill in IT and plumbing. A lot of people left the trade and there is a shortage of younger carpenters, plumbers, tilers and painters, but more seem to be coming in again as apprentices, which is welcome.
“We’ve just gone through our busiest three-month period so far,” Eamonn concludes. “As well as having a vast range of products and giving great service, our location is also a big part of that. We’re in a very accessible location, with ample parking space and customers like that.”
Ferdia Homevalue,
Ardee Enterprise Centre,
Cappocksgreen,
Ardee,
County Louth.
Tel: 041 6856475
Email: [email protected]
Web: ferdiastore.ie
This article was published in Building Ireland Magazine, April 2023, Vol 9 No 4
