PRO Group honors Tennessee dealer
Denver-based PRO Grojup selected Yates Home PRO of Tellico Plains, Tennessee, as the 2017 Paul L. Cosgrave Memorial Award winner. The award, named for the Pro Group founder, is given annually to a dealer that upholds the ideals of effective hardware retailing.
PRO Group wrote gthe following description:
What do you get when you mix a full line of products, superior customer service and strong community ties? Yates Home PRO.
In 2011, Overia Yates Russell and her husband J.R. took over her family’s business. Proud to offer the same one‐stop shop service Russell’s father began in 1967, the Russell’s have positioned Yates Home PRO as a top home improvement business in its marketplace today.
“As a family‐owned and oriented business, we are proud to provide services and products to our community, including a full‐line of hardware, clothing, hunting and sporting goods, automotive supplies and much more,” Russell says. “We take customer service very seriously. At Yates, we not only strive to achieve customer satisfaction, we guarantee it.”
With several big‐box competitors nearby, Yates Home PRO goes above and beyond to win customers’ loyalty. All employees complete extensive online training and are conditioned to always welcome customers with a smile and greet them by name whenever possible.
“The most unique aspect about Yates is its personality and how closely knit it is to the community it serves,” says Richard Snowden, senior vice president of marketing for Wallace Hardware Company. “Customers are viewed as friends and treated with respect at Yates. The company has been serving its market for 50 years.”
The company treats customers to annual events like appreciation days and Santa visits during the holidays. Yates Home PRO proved its dedication even more by installing a hitching post and watering station for Mennonite customers’ horses, and installing a pay phone on store property for their use.
In addition to home improvement needs, the Tellico Plains community counts on Yates for niche products such as camping gear, fishing equipment, guns, knives and pool supplies. Other categories offered include housewares, home appliances, lumber supplies and all materials needed to complete an interior structure. The community also counts on Yates for services like key cutting, tire installation and custom paint mixing.
To keep customers informed, Yates Home PRO Utilizes PRO Group’s marketing tools including circulars, monthly promotions, mobile texting specials and other various advertising methods. The Russell’s attribute a great deal of their success to their relationship with and loyalty to PRO Group and Wallace Hardware Company, which began at the company’s inception.
The company further supports its community by sponsoring and supporting local sports teams, fire and police departments, colleges and other civic organizations.