An Appreciative Customer Has Sandwich Named After Retailer

Randy Hageman was just doing what he does best—offering fantastic customer service—when his commitment to helping a customer led to a local sandwich being named after him. Hageman is the general manager of A&M Home Center in Bowling Green, Virginia, and had a friend of a friend in Florida reach out to him to help her find wind chimes. He looked online, found what she was looking for at his wholesaler’s warehouse and had the chimes shipped to her.

The customer was so appreciative of Hageman going above and beyond that she first tried to tip him. When Hageman politely declined, telling her it was just part of the store’s customer service, she offered to buy him lunch. She reached out to the Corner Store, a deli down the street from the store, and asked the owner to create a special sandwich for Hageman. They did, putting together an Italian meat sub and calling the sandwich The Hage. They even made The Hage part of their permanent menu. Hageman says he eats it at least once a week and sometimes a couple of times a week.

“They put the sandwich together and brought it down to me free of charge to try. It was a really good cold cut sandwich, I loved it!” Hageman says. “I’ve been in the business a long time, and this thank you means a lot to us. And it was all because of good customer service.”

Read more Checkout stories about community outreach efforts here, including how Tanis Hardware owner Skip Tanis combined his love for carousels with his skills in woodworking to restore a collection of wooden horses the Seaside Heights Historical Society in Seaside Heights, New Jersey, had acquired, and how Ellettsville True Value Hardware steps up to help residents stay cool during the dog days of summer.