DSR of the Month: Mark Klein, Hockenberg’s, Lenexa, Kan.

By Howard Riell, Contributing Editor -- Foodservice Equipment & Supplies, 2/1/2007

Mark Klein Sales Representative

Mark Klein, sales representative for Hockenberg’s in Lenexa Kan., has had a very successful year. In fact, he’s had a solid 30 years. What’s his secret? Customer service.

“This is going to sound trite,” Klein said, “but what’s made me successful over the years is service to the customer. There are nine guys in the city who carry the exact same product, and probably six of them offer the products at cheaper prices than we do.”

But, Klein added, it’s his service, strong relationships and the fact that people trust him wholeheartedly that have attracted customers to his business. “Customers know I’m going to take care of them,” he said. “They know I’m going to treat them fairly but that I’m here to make a profit. They won’t want to deal with somebody who’s not making a profit — they’re not going to be around too long.”

At the close of 2006, Klein raked in slightly less than $3 million in sales, thanks in part to an expansion by two longtime customers, including a barbecue and an Italian concept. Both operate four restaurants and have been Klein’s clients since their inceptions: 20 years for the former, 15 for the latter.

Klein said he never dreamed two decades ago that what were once new, single-unit concepts would one day help him achieve an all-time sales goal. “I thought it was just like another restaurant I might cold-call on Tuesday morning,” he said. “If it turned out to also operate seven restaurants, great, but it was one restaurant. I’ve made my living on ‘a restaurant.’”

Roughly 90 percent of Klein’s business comes from day-today street business. “I don’t have any big chains, I don’t cater to the national accounts,” Klein said. “I’ve made a living on mom-and-pop restaurants in this area. I put 30,000 miles a year on my car, all locally, and I never go anywhere out of town for business.”

Years ago, as a sales manager at a restaurant supply company in town, Klein learned a few important things, which he would pass along to others around him. “No. 1,” he said, “don’t upset the busboy, because the busboy may become a floor manager, and then an assistant manager, and then the general manager owning a chain of restaurants.”

Klein also stresses honesty. “No. 2: Don’t lie to your customers. If the factory says it’s going to be 30 days before you get the product, be honest and let them know it could extend to 45 days,” he said. “And No. 3, return your phone calls.” As a result of these and other solid principles, Klein has many of the same customers he had 20 years ago.

If there is an art to street sales, Klein said, it lies in the personal relationships he has built. One of the keys to building trust among customers, he said, is by eating in their restaurants. “My wife and I dine out probably 25 out of 30 nights in the month, and probably 90 percent of that is spent in my customers’ or potential customers’ restaurants,” he said.

Looking at some figures recently, Klein realized that approximately 35 percent of his business is now in disposables. “It is low-margin obviously,” he said, “but it’s an annuity. They use the toilet paper, paper towels and cocktail napkins every week, so that’s a built-in income.”

In the coming year, Klein hopes to makes his initial foray into national accounts. Already, he has been approached by management to do just that, and remains confident that his branch is stable enough to support new projects. “Don’t get me wrong, knocking on the door every day and getting the order for cocktail napkins and toilet paper puts the bread on my table,” he said. “But the excitement is in new openings, new horizons.”

Klein and his wife of 10 years, Marci, have three children, one grandchild, and another on the way.