Parr Is on Par as One of the Last Great Oregon Companies

With a focus on customer service that encourages both consumers and contractors to make Parr Lumber their first choice for building supplies, the family-owned company today ranks 23rd in the nation, with sales revenue eclipsing $300 million annually, says Nate Bond, sales director.

Special Consultants, Not Order Takers

Following a recent survey of 1,000 people, Parr Lumber learned that 56% of people who shopped in “big box” stores were dissatisfied with the experience, yet still continued to shop there.

Citing Home Depot as one of its competitors, Bond says Parr Lumber wins customers with its “Discover the difference” philosophy. “We focus on personal service, building a relationship with the people who come in the store. By acting as a consultant, not an order taker, we target that person who is trying to fix something up and make it beautiful,” Bond says. “We take the position that we are there for them.”

This was an important lesson for everyone to learn, because 80% of Parr’s business comes from contractors. Reaching out to the consumer market required a change in the way employees communicated with customers.

Bond explains, “We had to really examine ourselves, our behavior, and orient ourselves to the consumer market. We’re used to dealing with builders. They know what they want.”

By taking on the role of consultant, employees ask questions and guide the conversation to ensure customers get the product and support needed to complete a job successfully.

This business shift has had a positive impact on Parr employees, many of whom joined the company after a career in the building industry. Turnover is low; the average employee has a seven-year tenure with the company. “We can offer customers and contractors hundreds of years of experience,” Bond says.

Breaking the Gender Barrier

It’s that depth of experience that makes Ladies Night, a hands-on training program for women, so powerful. Started in 2003, the program is geared to reduce the emotional discomfort and physical risk many women experience when they approach a building project.

Women are a strong and growing customer demographic,” Bond explains. “It used to be that construction was a man’s world, the last bastion of male dominance. Kind of, ‘We handle the tools, we pound the nails, we go to the lumberyard.’ Yet so many of our women customers were saying, ‘I have a hole in the wall and I can’t get my husband to fix it, and I need to get it done.’ They’re taking command of the situation.”

The program is popular, bringing a dozen or more women in to each session. “We show them how to operate power tools, how to hang a door, put up tiles.” Women learn that “quality is not a luxury. If they treat themselves to an 18-volt cordless impact drill, for the next decade they’ll be glad they did. They can hang a hook, drill in a screw, put in molly bolts, all the things they never knew how to do before,” Bond says.

Part of the Community

Parr Lumber has always been headquartered in the Northwest. “We believe in strong communities and contribute to a long list of charities such as Ronald McDonald House and Friends of Children. When people shop with us, their dollars stay in the community.”

Bond joined Parr in 1977. “Parr is one of the last great Oregon companies. You can come in with moderate education. If you work hard, have a good attitude; there is a career path within the company. That’s really something nice these days, when people change jobs so often.”