Hanover, our first showroom, needed some sprucing up so we closed the store for a day to replace the carpet and repaint the walls. The place was jammed with workmen racing to complete the job on time. From the corner of my eye, I saw a customer pause at the door then slip inside.
“Hey, buddy,” I called after him, “we’re closed today.”
But he had a purposeful walk and he wasn’t stopping. Curious, I followed him upstairs where I found him studying a beautiful mahogany bedroom set.
“My wife loves this,” he said. “I need to buy it – today.”
As he explained, he was a soldier with the U.S. Army, and he was being deployed the very next day for Afghanistan. This would be an eight- to twelve-month tour of duty. He was leaving a wife of ten years home alone – and he wanted to surprise her with a gift.
“It’s perfect for our bedroom,” he said. “This is a great way to promise her that I’m coming home.”
Well, our staffers leaped to attention and powered up the register to process the sale. Delivery was set up for 1600 hours, or 4 p.m., the following day, the day of his deployment. His wife was taking him to the airport at noon – and our truck would arrive with the furniture shortly after she got home.
This weekend, as you’re enjoying the spectacle of the Super Bowl, take a moment to give thanks for all the soldiers away from home and on the front lines. Let’s never forget them – or the one more than xxx miles away whose wife is praying for his safe return so they can share that new bed.
