Appliance World says empowered employees provide good customer service

Empowered employees provide great customer service.

That’s the guiding philosophy at Appliance World, a  Huntington-based retailer of refrigerators, stoves,  dishwashers, barbecue grills and other products. 

Trusting employees to make decisions allows them to correct problems quickly, such as dealing with a customer upset over a late delivery or unpleasant experience.

"Give the guy back his delivery cost," said Kevin Nathan, 60, who founded the 26-year-old company. "Maybe invite him to an extra cooking" demonstration, which the company offers to customers who buy convection ovens. Employees "can do whatever they want to do within reason. The quicker they do it the better."

Appliance World has more than 50 employees, showrooms in Huntington and Oyster Bay, and a warehouse in Hauppauge. The company ranked third among small employers (with 50 to 149 workers) in a survey of Long Island employees by Energage, an Exton, Pennsylvania, research firm that conducts surveys on organizational health. Energage surveys workers at participating employers and determines which are top workplaces based on employee engagement with the company.

Employees interviewed for this story said Nathan created a company culture of empowerment, respect and team building.

Deanna Meringola, 23, an administrative assistant who also works in customer service, said she feels empowered to resolve problems on her own. When a customer called to say something was wrong with a grill he bought, she made the decision to send the delivery truck back out.

Kevin “trusts us all, and you almost feel hand-picked,” said Meringola, who has worked at the company for two years.  

Sales consultant Katie Berbenich,  27, who has worked at Appliance World for nearly four years, said Nathan constantly seeks ideas from employees.

"He wants us to have a voice in the company,” Berbenich said.

Nathan’s four sons who work in the business don’t feel they get any special treatment, except for having more demanded of them. Their father required them to learn the business from the ground up — as in sweeping the warehouse, said Mike Nathan, 32, the Huntington store’s manager.

“Nothing was handed to me,” Nathan said.  

To help ensure team building, the company’s events coordinator, Victoria Rezny, 26, organizes monthly birthday lunches and a monthly event such as bowling. And the employees break bread together four days a week at lunches that staffer and chef Max Nartowicz cooks in one of the store’s 11 demo kitchens.

Rezny said when she heard that Appliance World was in contention as a Top Workplace on Long Island she thought, “We could potentially win that.” 

- Carrie Mason-Draffen