I have been to many facilities where you are viewed as an insignificant yawn if you are there to have one small item for repair versus a mega-landscaper who gives the facility thousands of dollars in a season. Their classic line: "It's gonna be three weeks before we can even look at it!"

At 179 Seacoast Power Equipment, it's a totally different story. There the motto seems to be: "Treat the customer like a family member."

Here's my story. My lawn tractor died. I towed it up to 179 Seacoast on a Saturday morning----unfortunately for me, two hours before they opened. The owner, Bob, was inside the dark store doing paperwork and saw me in the parking lot with a look of despair. He never met me, but he came out, helped me unload the tractor, wrote me out a service ticket and did it with a smile. AND he thanked ME for giving him the chance to fix my tractor! By Monday night, I had received a call --- your tractor is repaired and ready. Ignition Coil. Something I couldn't diagnose on my own.

When picking it up, Michelle, Wayne and even Callie could not have been nicer to me. Courteous, Quick and Quality. Those are the three reasons I'll tell my friends about 179 Seacoast Power Equipment and I will certainly go back for my lawn power equipment needs.

Jim Hurley

Salisbury, MA

Hello Bob

You stayed late for me a few weeks ago, so I could get some chainsaw chaps- thanks for that.

But also, your guys in service, John and Matt specifically, are great. Did a great job on my snow blower and took the time to explain what they needed to do to bring it up to scratch and answer my questions on the final invoice.

Thanks for running a solid business.

Brian Engel

Hi, you guys picked up my snow blower on Tuesday morning from my house for a repair and it is already done. I want to say thank you for the excellent and fast service at a reasonable price. Even the phone call to make the appt. was pleasant. I will be honest, I tried to call Sears before you guys and won’t ever make that mistake again!

Jeff Milks
Greenland NH

Dear Bob,

JI am absolutely delighted with the Toro Power Clear 221 snow blower I purchased from 179 Seacoast Power Equipment this past fall. I’ve had and worked with a number of snow blowers over the year and this Toro is by far the best!

It does everything you said it would – and more! It is the perfect combination – lightweight and easy to maneuver and powerful enough to chew right through the largest snowdrifts! I used it for everything now – driveway, walks and the ice rink! I love it!!

Thank you and the team at 179 Seacoast Power Equipment for steering me to the perfect machine for all my needs.

Robert Eberle

I would like you to know that Lisa and Mike were absolutely fabulous people when my husband and I purchased a new riding lawnmower! I couldn't believe how well the team seemed to work together and how smoothly the transaction was! Bear with me here, we bought a lawn mower that can do the circle in the same spot, which is not the easiest piece of equipment to drive if you haven't done it before. I couldn't believe the attention that was given to my husband by Mike to show him how to handle the lawn mover and he was able to test drive it! While my husband and Mike were playing, Lisa stayed with me and we talked and answered questions that I had. I sincerely could not have asked for two better people to have dealt with. We will be purchasing a new snow blower from here, soon! The customer service was above and beyond anything I have seen and it is great to see that it still exists!

BTW - the reason we went back to 179 Seacoast Power to buy the lawn mower is because my husband's first purchase there was a weedwacker, the treatment he received was the same as if he was spending thousands of dollars!

Thank you for everything!

Christine and Timothy Faulkner
Greenland, NH

Dear Bob,

Just a quick note to say thanks to you and your staff for the great customer service I received regarding the repair of my snow blower. The snow blower was picked up at my house on Monday afternoon this week and it was ready to be returned Tuesday afternoon, which is pretty amazing service, particularly in this day and age when good customer service seems to be harder and harder to come by. Joe was very pleasant to speak with over the phone and he fully explained the problem with the snow blower to me.

I hope that you, your family and your staff all have a great holiday season.

Best Regards,
Mike Burke

Bob,

I'm a long time retail customer of Phibrick's it being now 18-19 years. I've purchased my chain saw, power edger, trimmer, Cub Cadet zero turn, blowers, snow thrower and hedge trimmer there.

I've had many occasions to deal with your excellent staff and in particular Jim...who I believe now manages your parts desk. He's simply very sales/customer focused and ready to ask to help on a moments notice.

I recently banged up my zero turn; it needing welding, deck wheel mounts straightened and new blades. I went in to see Joe a day or two later to see when it would be finished and he assured me that he was doing everything he could to get it back to me.

You redelivered it within several days (including over the weekend).

Great job! I was so impressed that I stopped in today to thank your guys.

Michael Jonis

Dear fellow Seacoast residents:

In times like these, when "your call is important to us" means just the opposite, it's so refreshing to meet someone who takes customer service to heart. My recent experience with Bob Milliken, the new owner of 179 Seacoast Power & Equipment on Route 1 in North Hampton, has given me hope that there are still people out there who know how to do the right thing. I won't bore you with all the details, but in a nutshell, I recently had a frustrating repair experience at 179 Seacoast Power & Equipment.

In defense of the service department, the majority of the blame lay with one of the company's parts suppliers, but I wasn't the parts supplier's customer - I was 179's customer. So I found out who owned 179, found out it was Mr. Milliken, and wrote him a note that explained the situation and expressed my dissatisfaction with the outcome. I fully expected that I would not hear from Mr. Milliken for several days, if ever, and when I did, the response would likely start with something like, "Your feedback is important to us."

I couldn't have been more wrong. Mr. Milliken called me the day he got the note and asked to meet with me right away. We met. We talked. He was civil, professional and responsive to my concerns. There was no finger-pointing, no defensive posturing - just a genuine desire to satisfy one of his new customers (and not a very big one, at that). I can't tell you how impressed I was.

Being in retail myself, I know that mistakes happen and, as a result, customers are dissatisfied. This is especially true in a new business that is experiencing growing pains and undergoing a culture change. But mistakes don't define a business nearly as much as how the business responds to those mistakes. If my recent experience is any indication as to the kind of company Bob Milliken is trying to build at 179 Seacoast Power & Equipment, I support him wholeheartedly. I hope you will, too.

Jay MacNamee
Rye

Dear Mr. Milliken,

We just wanted to extend to you a very grateful and heartfelt "Thank you" for welcoming us to 179 Seacoast Power Equipment in such a wonderful manner and in assisting with the recent purchase of our new Ferris mower. You personally always seemed to be there the three or four times we stopped by leading up to the purchase of a "dream come true" for us. Your very kind words and tremendous "making us feel at home" personality meant much to us.

We also want you to know we were very impressed with your sales staff, who helped us right from the beginning, and also with Jim Tilton, service. Jim, gave us a very thorough training (in the) operation of the Ferris, even though we were a bit apprehensive at the time.

(We were also) extremely impressed with the renovations of the showroom and with everything else we have noticed you have undertaken thus far.

Please also extend a word of "thanks" to your brother, who helped us out briefly during one visit, and to the girls in the office who helped with our final transaction.

Very, very sincerely,

Wayne I. and Betty J. Elliot
North Hampton, NH