Time With The Boss - Mike Goedeker

Mike Goedeker, GOEDEKER’S
Website: www.goedekers.com
Industry: online retail
Family: My wife and I have been married almost 25 years. We have four kids – two boys and two girls.

What is your mission?
My mission is the same as the philosophy we hold in our store and our site. We believe everything we do should be for the greater glory of God. We make it a priority to serve our fellow man to the best of our ability. We want people to see Christ in us and in everything we do.

What was your first job?  
I started cutting grass at the age of 12, then went to work at Goedeker’s at age 13. I worked six days a week in the store, which came out to about 46 hours a week.

What was your worst job?
I never really had a “bad job” because I’ve worked at our store my entire life.
 
What led you to your industry?  
Our father started the business in our home back in 1951. Steve, my brother, took over the store, and when I got older I began managing the sales side.

What was the smartest thing your company did in the past year?  
Over the course of the last year, we’ve hired a lot of great people committed to giving great customer service. We are dedicated to having the best customer service possible.

Who is your industry role model?
We hold Amazon in high esteem. They have e-commerce down to a science. Their customer service is great, their shipping is fast, and they are a well-rounded company committed to their customers.

How do you try to differentiate your business from others in your industry?
At Goedeker’s, we try to look for areas in our business that cause customers to worry and that the competition struggles to deal with. We then do everything we can to remove those worries. For example, our 30-day return policy and satisfaction guarantee seek to eliminate any possible worry from our customers’ minds.
 
What’s the hottest trend in your industry, and are you going to jump on board?
Mobile is by far the hottest trend in retail right now. It’s a huge player in online sales. We started developing a mobile-friendly site back in November 2013 and finally pushed it live this past August.

What’s the hardest part of your job?
Always pushing to live up to customers’ expectations and knowing sometimes we may fall short.

What’s the best part?
Surpassing the customers’ expectations.

What best advice would you share with new entrepreneurs?
Create a plan that makes sense and work harder than you think you can. Never give up.
 
What’s your favorite place in St. Louis?
I’ve grown up in St. Louis and lived here my entire life. There are so many amazing places. My favorite would have to be any place that I can spend time with my family and friends; that’s usually in my own house.

What book is on your nightstand?
A daily prayer journal.

What has made you successful in your industry and in St. Louis?
Having family and good co-workers to help us keep pushing in good or – especially – bad times. We’ve tried to keep the mind-set to always push to be better than we are now.