The Extra Mile Club - Bender Lumber Co.

Bender Lumber is connected with several types of businesses that our owner, John Bender, may also have ownership. One of these businesses is All American Storage. This business serves those who might need temporary storage for special items, sometimes memorabilia of times gone by.

Recently, an All American Storage customer had rent that was piling up. Years ago, this customer had worked with John. Knowing John was associated with Bender Lumber he called our Home Office to see if John could explain why he couldn't pay his storage bill by phone, using his card.

Joanne, on speaking with this customer, felt she might be able to help him instead. She called All American Storage to find out what the problem was. It seemed a form needed signing before the card could be activated. She called the customer back to explain, and found that he was in a nursing home, not in a position, due to ill health, to go out and sign the paper.

Integrity is thought of highly at Bender Lumber, and Joanne perfectly demonstrated this.

The Extra Mile Club|

Bill “Cheese” Thomas

At Bender Lumber, we pride ourselves in delivering service, second to none. Our commitment to service is demonstrated by employees in unexpected ways. At our Linton, IN store to get this type of service all you have to say is “Cheese”.

Bill Thomas, otherwise known as “Cheese”, is a 20-year veteran with the resolve to be the best service provider. “Cheese” takes pride in taking care of our customers and goes the “Extra Mile” to accomplish his personal service platform.

A customer needed 200 sheets of plywood, cut to size, and delivered to the job-site. This type of custom order takes a lot of time. The store was very shorthanded as some key employees were home on quarantine at that time. Employees were working extra hours just to keep the store staffed. “Cheese” was finally enjoying a well-deserved day off.

Continue reading the full feature below to uncover how "Cheese" perfectly displayed what customer service means.

The Extra Mile Club|

Mike Thatcher

Mike Thatcher is committed to being the best he can be. He makes those around him better and is often willing to sacrifice his time for others.

A great example of Mike's altruism occurred on the Friday before New Year's Eve, which would happen on Sunday. Four-day weekend and everyone needs to get home to prepare for family, festivities, and food. The store was slow, as always this time of year, so store manager Teresa McBride was starting to send employees home when the phone rang. It was a window vendor who wanted to make a long awaited delivery, well past normal working hours.

In this case it was an order that our customer had already been waiting three weeks to install.. These windows were holding upa the job!

Continue reading the full feature below, and discover how Mr. Thatcher handled this situation to become our newest member in the "Extra Mile Club!"

Road Warrior, The Extra Mile Club|

James McGovern

Mostly an Extra Mile award is about how we excel at taking care of our customers. Most do not know Bender Lumber stands out in how we serve each other as well. We feel if we serve each other well it sets the tone in how we might serve our clientele. We have even found serving others inspires us.

As our builders slow down in the colder months, it's the optimal time to accomplish projects around our stores. James, having prior remodeling experience, took on a project to revamp/refresh our Bloomington showroom.

Learn more about James' project in the full feature below. Congratulations on being our newest member in the "Extra Mile Club!"

The Extra Mile Club|