“I had worked for corporate America for 10 years and it just wasn’t my thing,” Leslie Koliner said. After she and her husband Rich did some soul-searching, they decided to jump into the pet business and opened Pet Care Depot in Holbrook, NY.
A friend was getting out of the business at the same time they were trying to get in. They bought out the store, and the rest is a big success story.
Just a year after opening, the couple had doubled the previous owner’s business. “We must be doing something right,” Leslie said.
Fresh from their rookie year success, they decided to open another store in their own town of Medford.
Why did they have so much such success so soon?
“I’d say 95% of it is due to customer service,” Leslie said, “At our store, no customer carries a bag of dog food.”
Store Staffed by “Family”
She gives a lot of credit to her “amazing” staff, most of which is family.
“We have my son, my son’s best friend, a niece—you get the idea,” she said, adding, “Once customers come in, they’re ours.”
Coastal harnesses offer a good example of their service.
“Just bring your dog in, and we’ll fit him (many stores no longer have the trained staff able to do that).
“ Coastal carries an awesome product line,” Leslie added. The two stores are served by A.C. Graham salesman Wayne Ketcham.
“He’s great—he’s always happy. He does a good job for us.”
The Koliners are looking forward to bringing Coastal’s Shed Magic de-shedding tool into the stores soon. Currently, they carry a more expensive competitor, and are excited about carrying a product with Coastal quality at a much lower price point than the current brand. The item was one of the store’s top sellers this past year.
This Cat Does Tricks
The Holbrook store features a cat that does tricks normally associated with dogs—it sits, begs, and lays down on command. It was trained by store associate Michelle. Naturally, it’s a favorite with kids as well as their parents. The Koliners also have a friendly tortoise that weighs in at close to 40 lbs., another customer favorite.
“It’s just a nice place to be—you’ll never be ignored.” Leslie said.
What are the trends they’re seeing at the stores?
“Everyone wants quality food—Organics’ a trend, and Natural Food is also a trend. People care about their pets and they want to feed them well.”
The economy is making people more careful about their other types of expenditures, but sales are still going strong at the store and show no sign of weakening.
To give their customers more options, the Koliners have a self-serve dog wash at the Holbrook location. They charge $9.99 to $17.99 a wash, depending on the size of the dog. Nail trimming is free. Not surprisingly, a good-looking, clean-smelling dog also spurs add-on purchases.
“People buy a lot of Coastal collars and leashes because they don’t want to put anything old on their dog after he gets a good bath,” Leslie said.
The Koliners also feature a bakery case filled with fancy, bone-shaped cookies, a favorite with customers and their canines.
Things are going so well that in their rare, slow moments, they dream of a third store.
“We’re always thinking about a new store, but we’ll give it a little more time,” Leslie said.
We’re cheering for you….