Success Story: Growth Through Customer Service

The Kitchen Store in Guilford, CT opened in 2008, and has enjoyed success thanks in part to owner Karen Tuccero’s passion for cooking and her commitment to customer service. Karen shared how she’s kept customers coming back and why her store is the first stop for customers looking for unique items.

When did The Kitchen Store open? How many employees do you have?
We opened in May of 2008, and I’m the main employee. I have one son who works on Sundays, and two girls that come in when needed. But as far as full-time employees, it’s just me.

What inspired you to own your own business?
I think I’ve always wanted to. I’m a very hard worker, and I put 200% into whatever I do. I thought if I was going to work that hard, I wanted to work for myself. I’ve always loved to cook since as long as I can remember. I’m from Madison, CT, and when I moved back to Madison when my kids were little, there was a store there called the Kitchen Place, and I used to go in there all the time. That store made me fall in love with quality stuff for the kitchen. I just learned to love everything about cooking from going into that store.

What do you like most about owning your own business? Anything you dislike?
I love that I’m my own boss, and I truly can do things the way they need to be done. On the flip side, when you own your own business, you are responsible for everything, so if someone doesn’t come in to work or if a delivery is late, it all falls me.

 What makes you stand out from the competition? What have you found works in terms or attracting and retaining customers?
I’m very service oriented. I have a great rapport with my customers. I love talking to them about food, cooking, kitchen gadgets, and I’m really knowledgeable about what I carry. Everything that I carry, I’ve usually used myself. I think that really sets me apart.

I think I’ve been able to keep people coming back because I’m their first thought if they need an unusual ingredient or item. I’m always looking for unique stuff, and I have a lot of unusual things that you don’t find anyplace else.

What has been your toughest challenge?
I opened just as the economy started to go down, so I think keeping the doors open during these tough economic times probably has been my biggest challenge.

What was something unexpected that you didn’t plan for, good or bad?
I think I kind of expected everything that has happened. One good thing is that I’m just amazed at seeing how wonderful people are, and how people want to come to a small shop. That has been the most wonderful gift—to know that people really want to go back to the old way of doing things—shopping local and having a rapport with a store owner.

Are you connected to any community institutions or organizations?
I don’t belong to the local chamber, but I’m just starting to do more [within the community]. I’m advertising on Patch, and I have a Facebook page, so I’m moving in that direction, but I haven’t really done anything up until now.

 Is there anything you would do differently? Or, what’s the one thing you’d make sure you did again if you were just starting out?
I’d probably be a little bit more organized as far as keeping track of things when I started out. I am constantly learning, but if I make a decision and I find in a month or two down the line that it’s not working, I’m very flexible and I’ll just change it.

Do you have advice for someone who wants to own their own business?
I would tell them to make sure that they have a passion for what they’re doing. If they have a true passion for what they’re doing, then it will be successful. I think to really love what you do is a huge thing. And also, I’d say to keep focused on your original plan. A lot of times, people go into business and then they kind of go off in a different direction and then it doesn’t work. So you really always have to come back to why you originally went into business and what your original plan was and build from that.