Best of 2000: Best Place To Get Fix-It Guidance

Dixieline Lumber & Home Centers
Ten locations countywide www.dixieline.com

True story: a friend was having trouble installing a heater thermostat she had bought at Dixieline. She called one of the stores and asked for help. Got a salesman who went out onto the floor, broke open a new thermostat package, read the instructions, and talked her through the installation. Customer service is "part of our mission statement," says Bill Shadden, director of merchandising for the 87-year-old local chain. Each of the ten retail centers has a counter in the middle of the store. When things get busy, you take a number from an old-fashioned dispenser, and sooner or later, you get the attention of an experienced handyman. Do-it-yourselfers will be pleased with the quality of Dixieline's lumber products. These you purchase inside at the counter. Then you drive your vehicle around back and pick them up from a warehouse. No pushing squeaky-wheeled carts full of two-by-fours through crowded checkstands.