A Hancock and Moore Story

This is why I love this company.....

Last week a customer came in and ordered a # 4957 Ellie Sofa, which is a fairly large piece. She was very excited to get it, being younger, this was her first major post-college furniture purchase, and a big expenditure for her and her husband. Its going into an apartment, so I cautioned her to check the doorway and fitment egress over the weekend and let me know.

Well, the front door to the apartment was too small. No way this big sofa was going in that door, but I told her I'd run it by Jimmy Moore and see if he had any ideas. Then I asked her to draw a diagram of her door entry way with measurements and photo the door and hallway. Her husband did an exceptional job of doing that, so I had a lot of detail info to fax down to Jimmy.

Perhaps Jimmy was impressed with the detail of the drawings and photos, as it was clear to us this was a customer who REALLY wanted this sofa, but in any case he literally called a staff meeting at the H&M factory to try to figure out how to mod this sofa. Himself, the Frame Plant Manager and the Production Manager all got together and they said they would make this sofa in two parts so it could be assembled inside the apartment, by making a separate frame base that can be screwed on. The upcharge was only going to be $ 350 for what is essentially a custom one-off sofa.

This is something that most upholstery makers just will not do. Or, if they agree to do it, charge such a ridiculous sum for custom work that it blows the deal out of the water. This mod requires hand-building the whole base of the sofa, changing all the exposed wood dimensions, and reinforcing it so it will take the stress of being a 2-piece unit.

H&M shows me once again they will always try to go the extra mile for their customers - and its why I enjoy selling and representing their products. Their owners and executives are never to busy to talk to a small dealer, nor do they sit in their ivory towers delegating to middle management. They roll up their shirtsleeves and work hard to make things happen.

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Originally Posted by drcollie

This is why I love this company.....

Last week a customer came in and ordered a # 4957 Ellie Sofa, which is a fairly large piece. She was very excited to get it, being younger, this was her first major post-college furniture purchase, and a big expenditure for her and her husband. Its going into an apartment, so I cautioned her to check the doorway and fitment egress over the weekend and let me know.

Well, the front door to the apartment was too small. No way this big sofa was going in that door, but I told her I'd run it by Jimmy Moore and see if he had any ideas. Then I asked her to draw a diagram of her door entry way with measurements and photo the door and hallway. Her husband did an exceptional job of doing that, so I had a lot of detail info to fax down to Jimmy.

Perhaps Jimmy was impressed with the detail of the drawings and photos, as it was clear to us this was a customer who REALLY wanted this sofa, but in any case he literally called a staff meeting at the H&M factory to try to figure out how to mod this sofa. Himself, the Frame Plant Manager and the Production Manager all got together and they said they would make this sofa in two parts so it could be assembled inside the apartment, by making a separate frame base that can be screwed on. The upcharge was only going to be $ 350 for what is essentially a custom one-off sofa.

This is something that most upholstery makers just will not do. Or, if they agree to do it, charge such a ridiculous sum for custom work that it blows the deal out of the water. This mod requires hand-building the whole base of the sofa, changing all the exposed wood dimensions, and reinforcing it so it will take the stress of being a 2-piece unit.

H&M shows me once again they will always try to go the extra mile for their customers - and its why I enjoy selling and representing their products. Their owners and executives are never to busy to talk to a small dealer, nor do they sit in their ivory towers delegating to middle management. They roll up their shirtsleeves and work hard to make things happen.

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Nice that H&M did all that and that you told the customer to check first. So many salespersons just want the sale and don't even caution the customer beforehand. I personally will try to remember to take a picture and measurements of their doorway to the store so they can check to see if the piece will fit or not from now on.

What a great story, Duane! This is why I truly want a H&M chair and more! I can only hope they will continue with such a favorable reputation during these difficult economic times. There are so many companies cutting back and taking "shortcuts" at our expense. It is very difficult to find quality anymore without much research and more. That is exactly how I happened upon your site......after much research and I am grateful for your expertise and knowledge!

Glad you're part of our new community!

Hancock and Moore is feeling the pain that all furniture manufacturers are, though not as severe as many. They've shortened work hours and have done a few layoffs, but not many. They are cutting back keeping all their 413 leathers in immediate inventory - I know when I call down that they don't have the hide stock levels they used to carry. But one thing they are not doing is taking any shortcuts. If you knew Jack Glasheen and Jimmy Moore personally as I do, you know its not in their nature. They run the company, not the bean counters, and they have tremendous pride in their product and what they do. They pay their employees more than the average furniture worker, but in return they demand higher standards from them. People can't just walk into H&M and get a job - they have to come from another furniture factory where they learned the craft elsewhere. Jimmy Moore does the hiring himself, so you have to pass Jimmy's criteria before you can work there - and there aren't many people know more about building upholstery than Jimmy Moore.

H&M was started by Jack Glasheen in 1978. Both he and Jimmy Moore were working at Classic Leather (Jack as Sales Manager and Jimmy as the Factory Manager), and decided they could form a company and do it better than anyone else. There were only six of them when H&M began, and four are still there today (two of the original employess retired in their mid-80's). In less than 30 years time they surpassed every other company in their craft and that's something not many can claim to have done.

so who is Hancock?

There isn't one. That was simply made up, inspired by John Hancock signing his name to the Declaration of Independence. As Jimmy told me "He (John Hancock) put his name to something he believed in, so that's why I chose it in conjunction with my last name."

I knew you would know the answer to this.