Tree Fort Bikes is in an interesting position, where even though its sales volume hasn't spiked, it has found a way to improve its profit margins, allowing the company to hire more staff.
Over the last year, the Ypsilanti-based retailer has turned to doing more high-end bicycle business. That change means a lower volume of bikes sold, which allows the firm to focus more on customer service. That has led to better profit margins and a happier customer base.
"We're always focused on customer service but now we have the extra time to take of each customer," says Scott Mulder, president of
Tree Fort Bikes.
It has also allowed Tree Fort Bikes to hire five people over the last year, expanding its staff to 15 people. Among those hires are sales and customer service professionals and a videographer. The videographer has let the company expand its YouTube channel with videos, such as instructional videos on maintaining a bike or overviews of certain brands.
That sort of extra is part of the customer-service-oriented plan to broaden the company's bottom line.
"We're growing but at the same time we're not Wal-Marting out our service," Mulder says.
Source: Scott Mulder, president of Tree Fort Bikes
Writer: Jon Zemke
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