Monday, Oct. 26, 2009

Collinsville delivery service wants to 'wow' its customers

Ryan Combs was not looking to own a business when he was offered a chance to buy one. The college student was working at a Collinsville package delivery service for a year when he bought that business in 2000. He relocated it two years later as his business grew. He was recently recognized by the Collinsville Chamber of Commerce with the Carl Schultze Improvement Award for service in the community. Combs recently talked to business reporter Will Buss about it:

Q: Congratulations. How does it feel to be honored by your peers?

A: “It feels great. I’m proud.”

Q: How did you get into owning the business?

A: “I was managing the store. The owner gave me a proposition to purchase the store, and I took it. I was a college kid and did not know much about business, but I ran with it. With a lot of help from my franchise and other people, I was able to be successful.”

Q: How long did you work there before you bought the business?

A: “It was a year. I was going to school, and I started working here to help my uncle, who was the manager. My aunt got ill, and he couldn’t be here as much, so I filled in for him and helping him out here, and I got to know the owner. Then, unfortunately, my aunt passed away, and my uncle switched jobs. I kind of took over the reins.”

Q: How would you describe your business?

A: “We are a packaging and shipping company. We basically like to help our friends and neighbors get their packages mailed and delivered for them to their destinations on time with unparalleled customer service and try to go way above and beyond their expectations and try to ‘wow’ our customers.”

Q: What separates your business from other delivery services?

A: “Definitely our customer service and our expertise to handle any items that we package, and ship anything. We like to say that we offer and strive for customer service.”

Q: How long have you owned the business?

A: “I’ve been here nine years.”

Q: How old were you when you first bought the business?

A: “I was 22.”

Q: What has that experience been like?

A: “I made a lot of mistakes, unfortunately, but I learned.”

Q: And what have you learned?

A: “Focusing on the customer, mostly, and trying to help customers and just being a friendly neighbor to them. Basically keep it simple. That’s what grew my business so much. Just focus on the customer and their needs and how to give them a great experience.”

Q: How have you grown the business?

A: “We have expanded, even in this economy and with these hard times, we went ahead and built a storage facility on our premises, a brand new steel building. It’s climate-controlled and a really nice facility to service our customers one step further to help them here for them in a nice, clean, climate-controlled environment. We also purchased new signage out front. It’s really different from a lot of signs. It’s like it’s three-dimensional. It’s really sharp. It’s attracted some attention, too. So right now, our focus is on the storage facility and trying to grow that, and everyday we’re trying to grow the business a little more in what we do with shipping and freight. We’re trying to grow that part.”

Q: What advice would you give someone who is or has bought into a business like you did?

A: “Definitely listen to the franchiser. They usually have a lot of great advice that’s been tested and proven. I think that was my first mistake. I was thinking that this was my business, and I know best. When I started to take a lot of ideas from them, they helped me a lot.”

Name: Ryan Combs

Age: 31

Job: Owner, Pak Mail at 407 Beltline Road in Collinsville (346-4884)

Outlook: “I strongly believe in God. Unfortunate things happened, but He also makes fortunate things happen, if you seek them.”

Contact reporter Will Buss at wbuss@bnd.com or 239-2526.