Members Share Benefits of Sam's Club

Spencer’s Smokehouse Steve Spencer - Member

A friend of Steve Spencer suggested checking out Sam’s Club nearly 25 years ago. Years later, Steve is undoubtedly glad he chose to become a Member of the first Sam’s Club in Midwest City, Okla.

Steve is one of four owners of Spencer’s Smokehouse in Midwest City. In business for 19 years, Steve and his partners have “enjoyed the long, hard process. But thanks to our relationship with Sam’s, it’s made it a whole lot easier – and a whole lot more profitable, I might say."

After Steve learned the concept behind the first Sam’s Club, he was impressed with it. “I had not been exposed to that type of buying power,” he said. “It was an adjustment for me, individually, because it was like a warehouse purchase. But when you learn the concept and what’s being offered through Sam’s, it didn’t take long for us to figure out that we needed to develop a business relationship with Sam’s."

Prior to joining Sam’s Club, Steve and his partners relied on food suppliers, but with the food business being “very competitive,” Steve said he had to be on top of his game to keep costs down. Steve’s larger purchases are primarily meat. “Sam’s has been [phenomenal] to us on food cost in that area,” Steve said.

The smokehouse uses roughly 1,500 pounds of brisket each week. Steve said if he bought that much meat from a supplier he could spend up to $400 more each week than at Sam’s Club. “You can see how critical that is,” he said.

One reason Spencer’s has been so successful, Steve said, is because “Sam’s is in tune with what the individual needs – not just our business. … I think that’s a big, positive thing for Sam’s – that they do encompass everybody … not just the business. It’s just as important for an individual as it is for me as a restaurant owner to share that Membership and take advantage of what they have to offer."

Over the years, Steve has taken advantage of the Associates’ pleasant and considerate nature. He knows several of the Associates at the Midwest City, Okla., Club by name and has for many years. “We’re one big, happy family. From Bruce (Club manager) down, you feel comfortable working with anybody that’s associated with Sam’s. They are service-oriented,” he said.

"Sam’s, the reason you’re here 25 years after the beginning is just for the fact of what I’ve stated in the past: You’ve done everything possible to make our business a success, and I know that you’re doing the same for individuals that are in the community to help them with their lives the way they need to live it.,” he continued. “Because of our relationship, I feel like we’ve been a very successful business, and we’re hoping that we see it in the next 25 years.”

Kathy Cronemiller – Member

Kathy Cronemiller became a Sam’s Club Member the very first day the doors in Midwest City, Okla., opened. In fact, her original Sam’s Club Membership card was the fourth ever issued.

Kathy has added cards as she has expanded her child care business. She buys snacks and milk at the Club for the 1,500 children in her centers.

As Kathy acquired more centers, she needed more and more milk. “I cannot tell you the amount of … difference [the Sam’s Club] price has made for myself and my businesses over the last few years,” Kathy said. “The prices have been so much cheaper than what I could have [gotten from] a grocery store."

Kathy thought about hiring someone to deliver the milk during the cold months. “At first, they said, ‘Oh, we can meet Sam’s prices,’ but then, all of a sudden, the prices go up after about a month or so. And then I realized how much money I’m spending [rather] than having my employees come and us getting the groceries ourselves,” she said.

Sam’s Club is “probably one of the reasons I’m still in business … because of the amount that I’ve saved on groceries,” she said. And when it comes to feeding 1,500 children, price makes a difference.

Two of Kathy’s centers operate 24 hours a day, six days a week. She serves breakfast, lunch, two snacks and dinner. “So, you can see why we spend so much money here on groceries for the children,” she said. “It’s always been real important to me to serve the children the best nutrition I can."

Kathy said she feels that she and Sam’s Club have a good partnership that helps her reach her goal of serving nutritious food to the children. “I love the bakery. It gets so hot in Oklahoma in the summertime, so I’m able to pick up the things that the bakery makes fresh here. We can give the children fresh … muffins and things that I can buy here and not have to heat up my building."

On many occasions, Kathy talked with Sam Walton at the Club. She recalls one encounter when she was shopping with her 2-year-old niece. “[My niece] was sitting in the cart with overalls on. Sam had his overalls on, too. He came over and said to her, ‘Are you trying to copy me?’ She talked to him and he held her. It was just very, very personable,” Kathy said. On other occasions, Sam and Kathy talked over a soft drink while her sons loaded groceries. “I miss him not being here. It was fun to talk to him because he was so personable,” she said.

"One thing I’ve always liked about Sam’s more than anything else is the group of people that are the Associates that work here – and the managers,” Kathy said. “That’s the difference that Sam’s has made. Not only just because they’re my vendor and they sell to me and we have that relationship. But they also want to make sure that the children that we have in our centers are taken care of."

John Brewer – Member

The largest winery in the state of Kansas is a proud, long-time Member of Sam’s Club because of the convenience and efficiency of purchasing a variety of products needed for the four retail and production facilities located throughout the state. “Someone from the winery will be at one of the Clubs at least twice a week, and that’s about $10,000 worth of purchases every month on items from food to paper to furniture,” said John Brewer, who began the winery 14 years ago after a successful previous career in high tech.

John has a doctorate in physics from the University of Arkansas, but his greatest accomplishment is the business he built on his own that allows him time with his family – and the opportunity to overcome significant business challenges by using his experience and expertise in natural science.

“When I was in graduate school, I helped write a textbook teaching physical science to elementary teachers. The key was giving them projects that their students would be interested in doing, like making ice cream and wine,” said John, who has used his knowledge, research, and talents to produce internationally acclaimed wines made from a variety of fruits in addition to grapes. His winery’s specialty is made from elderberries, a fruit with well documented medicinal benefits.

Wyldewood Cellars markets an elderberry concentrate to health food retailers in addition to shipping out 18,000-20,000 cases of wine each year. That is in contrast to 80 percent of the state’s wineries, which typically sell fewer than 2,000 cases a year. There are four Wyldewood retail tasting centers – two in Wichita, one in Kansas City, and one near Topeka. They attract a lot of customers and require a huge amount of supplies for the tasting rooms as well as the production and maintenance. The local Sam’s Clubs in these areas are the preferred places to shop.

“Our tasting guests like snacks with their wine, and so we stock our retail stores with chips, cheese, crackers, dips, and a number of other items for them to eat and buy,” said John. “Our production crew drinks a lot of coffee. They like it strong like espresso. We go through about a pound a day of the Sam’s Club brand of coffee beans.”

“We also do catering and weddings. Just last week the wedding party had heard about our brisket and ribs, and so we went to Sam’s Club to stock up. Many of our customers have also requested the seasoned spiral ham the we pick up at the Club. We depend on Sam’s Club for many other items in addition to food. We’ve gone into a Club to purchase 200 chairs and 80 tables, and I was really appreciative of the managers who met our needs. They were unbelievably nice,” John said.

Wyldewood Cellars has a travel trailer that exhibits at state fairs in Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Texas. “We completely stock the trailer with food and paper products from Sam’s Club, including a TV and VCR from the Club. Whoever goes to the fair lives in that van for a week, offering tastings to state fair visitors. So it is very convenient to have a Sam’s Club location near the fairgrounds. Our people can easily purchase the grape juice and snacks we offer with the tastings at a Sam’s Club and they don’t have to worry about purchasing those items ahead of time,” John explained.

“When I think about Sam’s Club, the two words that come to mind are convenience and economy. My family shops there for personal needs,” added John whose children Tracie, Brenton, and Ashley buy food in bulk quantities for their apartments at college. John’s wife Beth shops at Sam’s Club for a lot of the family’s food, both frozen and fresh. “We buy a little bit of everything from coffee and appliances to electronics and blue jeans. I used to buy Levi’s jeans, but they’ve gotten so expensive, I tried the Sam’s Club brand. It fits and wears just as well and is one-third the price.”

“Sam’s Club has a whole lot of what we need and at reasonable prices. I figure we save a couple thousand dollars a month, and that’s exactly why we will continue to consider Sam’s Club as the place to shop at,” John said.

Nancy Durson – Member

Long hours are the hardest part of being the boss, but Nancy Durson really enjoys running her 20-year-old business that has helped put her three children through college. “It’s a fun job because my customers are so nice,” said Nancy, who operates Nancy’s Citgo in Lyons, IL and has been using her local Sam’s Club for 80 percent of purchasing for the attached convenience store.

Nancy and husband Ray actually own the entire block in this working class neighborhood. In addition to their service station and 3,500 square foot c-store, they have three tenants: automotive repair; oil change; and retail car accessories. “We are a full service automobile convenience center,” she said.

“Ray and I had previously been in the import/export business but found a great property for sale in 1985. We put more than $700,000 into remodeling it back then, and another $600,000 two years ago. We’ve become part of the everyday life in this community since 95 percent of our customers come in regularly,” she said.

Just after opening the store, Nancy saw a flyer for the new Sam’s Club, and she decided to check it out. “When I first walked, I liked the atmosphere of the wholesale club. I had been having all my products delivered, but the prices at Sam’s Club were so reasonable that we started to use the Club for more and more of our purchases. We have saved so much money on cigarettes over the years, and that savings alone has made us profitable,” she said.

Nancy used to sell 1,000 packs of cigarettes a day, but the number has been cut in half in the last several years. “People still need staples, though, like bread, milk, and soda. I buy most of these items from Sam’s Club. My customers have really gotten into the energy drinks, and I save a great deal by getting them at the Club,” she explained.

Shopping at Sam’s Club is enjoyable to Nancy for many reasons: “First of all, it feels like home because I am there so often and the people all know me from the minute I walk in. The Club is on my way home. It is so convenient, and I usually stop in two to three times a week for personal items as well as products for the business,” said Nancy, who often fills up her Marano SUV with purchases from the Club.

Three years ago at Christmas holiday time, the Club offered a special display of Favio brand apparel which included fur coats. “Favio himself was there, and he asked me if I wanted to try on a coat. I did and then ended up buying a couple of them. But one of the most fun things is that I had my picture taken with Favio when I had the coat on. That picture is hanging up both in my office and at home. It is a real conversation piece. Now, every time Ray sees Favio on TV, he says, ‘Nancy, there’s your boyfriend on TV’,” she said.

Last year, Nancy was named Member of the Year and was very proud of the honor. She feels her relationship with Sam’s Club has been mutually beneficial. “Pricewise, the savings have really added up, but it’s hard to calculate since I’ve been shopping there for so long.”

PierreJean Laupies – Member

The vitality and excitement of a career where every day is different makes PierreJean Laupies a very happy man. He is the Chef and General Manager for Chez Daniel Bistro – the food service operation for the Embassy Suites Hotel in Bloomington.

“The diversity of my job is what I like the most. If I want to cook, I cook. If I want to see dinner guests, I have the freedom to roam around the restaurant and talk with people. Sometimes I will even wash dishes. And if I want to take some time to go to Sam’s Club, I go,” said PierreJean, who has been a Member for 25 years.

“Way back then I was offered a membership by the company I worked for and started out shopping for a few personal items. But now that I have the responsibility for food and beverage services for the restaurant, banquets, and meetings, I find myself at Sam’s Club a few times every week,” he said.

The Sam’s Club location is only a mile from the hotel, so the convenience can’t be beat. And the savings is even more wonderful, according to PierreJean. “I buy all my lamb, pork, and salmon at Sam’s Club. The meats come from all the best sources, but it is considerably less expensive than other suppliers. One good example is the rack of lamb. In the same packaging as I could purchase elsewhere, I pay $4 less per pound at Sam’s Club. That is a tremendous savings,” he said.

In addition to a great variety of other foods, PierreJean buys all his office supplies like computer ink and paper, tape, and envelopes at the Club. He figures he is saving at least $1,500 every month by shopping at Sam’s Club. And the rebate from using his Discover Card brings in added savings.

In mid-April, the Embassy Suites will be opening a new convenience store inside the hotel, another responsibility for PierreJean. “To me, this has been a whole new venture. I met with Sam’s Club managers Steve Holman and Randy Pittman to put together a list of the items and quantities to carry in the store. It was quite a learning experience. They helped me by explaining what products sell best in Minnesota,” PierreJean explained.

“The managers were great with merchandising ideas. They went back to the corporate office and returned with a whole store layout. It was unreal,” added PierreJean who will buy 95 percent of the store goods from Sam’s Club – from candy to toilet paper to small gift items.

Not only is PierreJean an enthusiastic business member at Sam’s Club, but he and his wife Pamela enjoy shopping there for personal needs as well. He recently bought a newly offered barbeque with an oven. “When I cook at home, I make such a mess that Pamela sends me outside. I often cook out of doors even if it is 40° below zero. You get used to the cold,” he said.

PierreJean appreciates the personal service and the way Sam’s Club Associates go out of their way to help. He likes to tell his recent tire-buying experience: “When I needed to buy two new tires for my truck, I, of course, went to Sam’s Club. After the installation, the service person at the Club told me that my other two tires were wrong. The Ford dealership had initially given me incorrect tires. I went back to that dealership, and sure enough, the Sam’s Club service person was correct, and I got those tires replaced by the dealership,” he explained.

“Going to Sam’s Club is always fun. I get there at 7 a.m. when it opens, and I feel like I own the place. Everyone knows me and is so willing to help with whatever I need. I recently bought a plasma TV that didn’t fit in my truck, so Jim Martin from the Fax n Pull department put it in his van and brought it to me after work. Great service, a huge selection of products, and real savings. What could be better. Sam’s Club is definitely a great place to shop,” PierreJean said.

PierreJean Laupies – Member

Operating stores gets into your blood, according to Michael Frank, whose company TMT Inc. now owns 13 convenience stores in the Dallas metropolitan area. “Initially, I backed into c-stores. Like my dad, I’d been in the gas distribution industry. I was supplying gasoline to six locations, and they started dropping. So in 1981, I took over some service stations and put in coolers and motor oil for sale,” he said.

It was just about that time when Sam’s Club came to town: “I got a call from someone telling me that the Club offered such great prices that I had to try it. They were right. I’ve been a Member since they opened, and I buy memberships for my employees,” Michael said. “I love Sam’s Club and could shop there every day. I have never dealt with nicer people. It may sound corny, but it is just like the Club is my store. I have great relationships with so many people that I don’t want to mention anyone’s name because I might leave someone out.”

Michael is always at Sam’s Club at 7 a.m. on Mondays. That’s when the fresh Copenhagen tobacco comes in, and so that’s when many convenience store operators – Michael’s friends -- come in for their weekly supply. “Our customers love the freshness, but the Club’s supply is usually gone by 2 p.m., so we have to come in early to get it,” he explained.

One Monday last month in March, one of the Sam’s Clubs Associates handed Michael a big cookie. It was for his birthday the next day. He hadn’t even told anyone, but they knew.

Michael has a Sam’s Club shopping buddy – Dana Foster, his longest standing employee of 24 years, who now supervises four of his stores. “Dana and I meet on Mondays. She goes through half the Club, and I go through the other half. We buy a large variety of items, but the biggest categories are tobacco products, motor oil, drinks and coffee. I’ve called manufacturers to set up coffee programs for convenience stores like mine, but no one can beat Sam’s Club prices,” he said.

He compares Sam’s Club to ice cream: “I’ve always liked ice cream, and I’ve always liked shopping at Sam’s Club,” said Michael who tells the story about how Sam’s Club toilet paper saved him more than $10,000. It’s a great long story, and you ought to ask Michael for the whole story some time. But, in a nutshell, one day Michael had bought thousands of dollars worth of cigarettes at Sam’s Club and loaded them into his van. He didn’t have time to take them home or to his stores because he was meeting some people at a basketball game.

“I left the cigarette cartons in my van in the parking lot with boxes of Sam’s Club toilet paper on top. When I returned to the lot after the game, I saw broken glass all over. Many of the vehicles had been broken into. My heart stood still as I passed unhappy car owners surveying the damage to their cars and vans. When I got to mine, though, nothing had been touched. My cigarettes were still there, protected by the Sam’s Club toilet paper,” he said.

Not only does Michael depend on Sam’s Club to supply his convenience stores, but he also purchases “a ton of groceries” and household items for his personal use. “My kids are in love with the commercial size burgers and other teenage fare. Our freezer is full of snacks from Sam’s Club for our three teenagers and all their friends,” said Michael who also bought a big screen TV that hugely impressed his accountant: “That’s the best TV I’ve ever seen,” said the accountant and then went out the next week and bought the same thing for himself.

The accountant had been at Michael’s Labor Day party, an annual all day party for 250 employees and friends that has been going on for 20 years. “My wife Toni makes brisket, shrimp, and chicken – all bought from Sam’s Club. We do raffles and giveaways, too, and I usually go to the Club early in the morning of the party and spend $3,000-$4,000 on gifts from dolls and glitter pens to tools to camping equipment to TVs and DVD players,” he explained. “I just can’t say enough about how much I appreciate Sam’s Club and what role it plays in both my business and personal life.”

The icing on the Sam’s Club cake came for Michael last February. He’d always been a cash buyer, paying by check every week. “But the girls kept trying to convince me to try the Discover Card program. So last year I finally did. And in February I got back $10,000. A nice little pop! I had to wonder how much I’d left on the table before. It is great to have so many people taking care of me. Like a lot of people, I have other choices, but I wouldn’t do it. From the great prices to the convenience to the superior customer service, there’s no better place to shop,” he said.

Pinaki and Sanjay Patel – Member

Eighteen years ago Pinaki and Sanjay Patel were visiting relatives in southern California and accompanied them to a local Sam’s Club. “When we first walked in, we were amazed. The selection of food and clothing was overwhelming; we were thrilled at the opportunity to take such big packs of spices and other products back home to England,” said Pinaki, who had been a senior manager at the United Kingdom passport agency for many years. Her husband Sanjay had been the IT director for an English company, and both of them had grown tired of their high pressure jobs.

“We both had intense schedules and Sanjay’s job required him to travel away from home for weeks at a time. That meant we rarely spent time with family and were missing out on life, so we decided to move to the United States and go into business for ourselves,” said Pinaki who checked out opportunities in New Jersey and California before finding just the right property in Orlando, FL.

It took two years to get everything right with the service station/convenience store location, but they officially opened Debary Mobil for business February 3, 2003 and now they depend on Sam’s Club for most of their purchasing. “It’s so easy to shop for everything under one roof. You can’t beat the savings and convenience,” said Pinaki, who along with Sanjay each work 60 hours a week. “Our peak hours are from morning to 3 pm, and one of us is always there during the day. It’s a lot of time, but when you are working for yourself, it’s a lot more fun,” she said.

The Sanford, FL, Sam’s Club is only two miles away from the business, and Pinaki goes there 2-3 times a week to purchase all her cigarettes as well as a huge variety of food and supplies. “We have a food court and make pizza from scratch. We buy our cheeses, pepperoni, and spices for the pizza from Sam’s Club as well as all types of sandwiches, bagels, other breakfast items, condiments and frozen foods,” she said.

Sanjay and daughters Ruchruchisha and Venesha shop at Sam’s Club as well. They love the variety and the girls always have their photos developed at the Club. “We depend on Sam’s Club for both personal and business items, and we love shopping there. Everyone knows us by name,” Sanjay said.

The Patels built a new home in Orlando, and when Pinaki looks around, she says, “My whole new house is from Sam’s Club. We didn’t bring anything from England, so a lot of my furniture, cookware, electronics, linen, exercise equipment and ornamental plants come from Sam’s Club. I even bought my iron and hair dryer at the Club. If it is in Sam’s Club, I have it,” said Pinaki who actually purchased outdoor furniture a year before her patio was ready and stored it in her garage until she could use it. “The furniture was exactly what I knew I wanted, and it was such a great value that I didn’t want to miss out.”

As business members whose purchases total anywhere from $500,000 – $750,000 a year, the Patels have been invited to give feedback to store managers on how the Club can best serve its business members. “This means a lot to us that Sam’s Club really wants our opinions on how to offer the best services to small business owners, and, of course, it helps us as well. The Discover Card program is phenomenal. We can get back an extra $12,000 in a year. I get to keep that!.It is icing on the cake. There’s no doubt that Sam’s Club has played a very important role in our success,” Pinaki said.