From Froyo to Fundraisers: How this Pet Retailer Carved Its Niche in … – PetProductNews.com

Paws On Chicon co-owner Keith Zeiler (right)

Paws On Chicon co-owner Keith Zeiler (right)
Tim Andrews, co-owner with husband Keith Zeiler of Paws On Chicon, which has two stores in Austin, Texas, shares what his store is doing to recruit and retain talent, along with his best advice for connecting with customers. 
Tim Andrews: We are known for a few things that really stand out. First is our nutrition knowledge. Keith is a certified pet nutritionist, and our entire staff receives four weeks of intense nutrition and product training before they start working with customers. We’re known in our community as the store to go to if your pet is having allergies, digestive issues, etc.
We’re also known for:
Andrews: Natural Cravings Beef Roasters dog treats; Stella & Chewy’s, Fromm, Nulo, Zignature and Inception kibbles; Primal frozen raw dog and cat food; Fluff & Tuff toys; Stash Shankzilla bones; Major Darling collars and leashes; and PeaksNpaws Himalayan yak milk chews.
Andrews: They are:
Andrews: Pet food company mergers and acquisitions, the great grain-in versus grain-free debate/misinformation, and new and unique products and services.
Andrews: Staffing remains an issue. It’s been hard to attract and keep good talent because Austin is such an expensive city to live in. We have increased wages and have doubled our employee discount, added medical and dental insurance, etc.
Andrews: We are working to open our third location in Q3 2023.
Andrews: We send a handwritten note to each new customer who creates a free loyalty account with us, thanking them for their business and providing them with a token that they can redeem for a free sample froyo.
Listening to their needs and offering solid advice and providing the best product matches for their situation. We are known as problem solvers, and when you do solve a problem with a pet’s issues for a customer, they become very loyal and refer lots of other people.
Our adoption program gets customers set up with lots of free goodies for their new furry friend and gives us a chance to walk customers through our stores so that we can explain what we have to offer, the benefits of feeding better-quality foods, etc. People learn that we know our business and carefully curate products that they can feel good about buying.
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