When Ray and Jenny Dechant stopped
at Erb’s Stove Center to look for a fireplace,
they didn’t expect to one day feel
like family.
But that’s exactly
what
happened.
“When you
become a customer,
you become
almost
like a family
member, ”
Jenny says.
“We feel like
we could stop
in anytime and
say ‘hi’ and
‘bye’ or to get a free hot dog.”
Walk into Erb’s Stove Center and you’ll
get the warm feeling of home from the
workers’ friendly hellos to hot dogs
grilling on the front porch and fires blazing
in the showroom’s fireplaces.
“Our goal is to make that every customer
has a great experience every time they walk in to shop,”
says Duane Erb, the store’s owner. “If we
put that in place, it goes a long way in
making customers feel at home.”
Duane’s father Ed started the business
in 1982, fixing stoves for the local Amish
community. The Amish-owned business
slowly expanded over the years to include
top-of-the-line fireplaces, stoves, grills,
outdoor furniture and much more. “We’re
a complete hearth shop from tools, grates,
pipes and whatever you would expect,”
says Duane, who recently became the store’s second-generation owner.
When the Dechants walked into Erb’s Stove Center, they knew they had found what they were looking for after two years of waiting to replace the worn-out fireplace in their family room. “We had looked around where we live and nothing appealed to us,” Ray remembers. “When we stopped
in at Erbs, we saw a couple of things right away that we liked. They had a much bigger selection than anything in our area.” In Erb’s well-stocked showroom, customers can see products on display, including floor to ceiling fireplaces against warm colored walls and decor from a local gift shop. “Customers can visualize how the product would look in their home, and they can see the fireplace actually burn, not just see it in a picture,” Duane explains. Erb’s can also create custom fireplaces and work off of a drawing or picture that a
customer brings in. According to Duane, the fireplaces at Erb’s have the most realistic burn in the industry, besides being heavier built and having more remote features.
The Dechants were pleasantly surprised
to learn that Erb’s would come to their
home in Lorraine County, an hour and a
half away, to install the solid cherry,
raised-panel Mendota fireplace they had
chosen. (Erb’s does, in fact, install fireplaces
as far away as Columbus, Wheeling
and Cleveland and has sent a stove as far
as Louisiana.) Having a fireplace installed
in their home started with a free estimate,
so the couple would know up front what
everything would cost, and “there were no
surprises.” That meant Duane and one of
his workers climbing up in the chimney,
crawling into the attic and inspecting
everything to see what pipes needed to be
added or replaced. “Because of the attention
to detail that he was doing that day,
we just knew we made the right decision,”
Jenny says. “We knew we weren’t going
with anyone else.”
When workers from Erb’s Stove Center
came to install the fireplace, the men
worked quietly and steadily but took time
to visit over a lunch the Dechants provided,
sharing about their families and
their lives. “It’s rare that you get to have
someone come in to do a job for you, and
you really get to know them,” Jenny says.
“It’s an atmosphere they create that you
feel comfortable. Most people just come
in, do the job and rush off to the next one.”
Just like you would for family, Erb’s
takes care of its customers from start to
finish and that isn’t just a one-time experience.
With Erb’s preventative maintenance
program, staff will come out every
summer, clean out the fireplace and ensure
that there are no issues for the coming
winter. “We look for brands that give us
warranty on parts and good support if issues
come up so that we can support our
customers,” Duane states.
“We can’t wait for winter so we can put
the fireplace on more often,” Ray smiles.
“If we want to warm up the house, we can
throw it on for an hour. If we have winters
like we’ve had, the fireplace is going to
come in handy.”
“It’s just beautiful,” Jenny adds. “It’s really
amazing what the light inside the firebox
does to brighten up a room.”
You won’t find high pressure sales tactics
at Erb’s Stove Center, but you will find
trust and honesty, products that speak for
themselves and 30 years of knowledge
about the industry. “The products speak
for themselves, and Duane was so knowledgeable
that it was really amazing,” the
Dechants say. “We relied on his experience,
and he came through.”
“You don’t feel like they’re trying to sell
you something,” Ray finishes. “They’re
trying to help you buy something you
want. They treat people the way they want
to be treated.”
The people at Erb’s Stove Center know that’s what being family is all about.
Stop in at their store, located at 4100 State Route 39, Millersburg, Ohio 44654 (about one mile east of Berlin). Phone: 330-893-3903. Store hours: Monday-Saturday
9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Closed Sunday.
Written by www.ohacg.com