Tammy Cary figured she would be busy.
A storewide, 20 percent discount on all merchandise at Orscheln Farm & Home for two hours Sunday would certainly draw a few eager Christmas shoppers, she thought.
Then came Sunday evening. A raucous crowd filled the store until nearly midnight.
The sale was supposed to end at 8:30 but was extended to accommodate the long lines of customers, to the point that the store wound up being open until almost midnight.
So many people came that some didn’t fit in the parking lot and had to park next door at Dollar General on North State Street.
“I don’t think anybody was expecting that,” said Cary, a checkout clerk at Orscheln for nearly two years.
Perhaps they should have.
Sales at Orscheln have been up all year, reported Robert Dehn, store manager, “and our holiday sales are probably twice what we expected.”
Dehn has a few hunches as to why business has been booming.
The state economy seems to be improving slightly over past years, and it was by all accounts, a successful year for area farmers. Couple that with Orscheln’s ever-expanding stock of merchandise, clothing, toys and other items utilized around the house or on the farm, and you have the makings for a financially successful year.
But Dehn also credits the Orscheln staff, a crew of nine full-time and seven part-time employees, for their customer service.
“I wouldn’t trade my crew for anybody’s,” said Dehn, who has been the local store’s manager the past 17 months. “We like to get out and talk to the customers, ask if they’re finding everything they want, or if they need help in deciding what they want if they don’t know already. Everybody likes working together.”
ORSCHELN’S next major promotion takes place Sunday evening, and is dedicated to local 4-H and FFA members. For two hours, those youth will be given a 15 percent discount on anything in the store.
“We figured we’d like to do something for the kids this year,” Dehn said, noting that 4-H’ers and FFA members are frequent customers at Orscheln because of their projects. “I guess we’ll have to wait and see what kind of a turnout we get there. We tried to contact as many of those groups as we could.”
THE HOLIDAY shopping season will precede other changes at Orscheln, including an expansion of the storeroom floor, to accommodate an even wider selection of merchandise.
“We’ll have more plumbing and electrical supplies, toys, things like that,” Dehn said.
Orscheln also soon will carry Purina pet food products to along with its Nutrina and Country Lane brands.
Orscheln is open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sundays.
