This is my Bering’s story, what’s yours?

With so many people moving to Houston it is sometimes easy to forget that not everyone is familiar with Bering’s. If you’ll humor me while I talk in first person about my own experience, it might jog your memory as to how you became a Bering’s customer – or hopefully encourage you to come visit one of our two Houston, TX locations!

Not being from Houston, I was more or less clueless about many wonderful “gems” the city had to offer. I find more and more reasons why I really like living here each and every day, from the museums to the restaurants and more! However, like many others I actually place the highest draw on the people and personalities I’m surrounded with day in and day out. Houston has blown me away by the people that call this town Home.

With that said, it should be no surprise as to my initial impression of Houston’s original hardware store, Bering’s. Quite honestly, I fell in love with the cool culture. To start with, it was like no other store I’d ever been to. As I walked from department to department I was greeted with a warm hello and a helping hand. (It is a bit of a bummer there isn’t a person that pops out of our website and offers a Bering’s hello or warm smile! Technology!!)

While it took my husband to introduce me to Bering’s, he now jokes about wishing he hadn’t – because it is such a great place to not only work for but to shop (for pretty much any and everything)!!

Like many other engaged couples, we registered and did our wedding stationery with Bering’s. Allow me to be completely honest by the fact I was initially intimidated by the infamous gift shop, and to some extent the luxurious stationery department too! Fine china and serving pieces were so very gorgeous, but they weren’t overly exciting at first. In no time at all I was greeted with a warm hello by a gift shop bridal consultant, as well as a well versed stationer and the rest as they say is “history!”

You see, the gift shop and stationery staff is no different from any of the department staff members; they truly share the same end goal – making customers happy! And just like all of the other employees, most all are hired with a subject matter background in the department they work in, to better help customers.

Bering’s bride equals check! …If you are engaged you’d be remised not to register at Bering’s. From Grills to coolers to tabletop and more, it is THE place for you as well as your guests to find exactly the right gift. Both the bride and groom are sure to find it all, and the parking is never a problem!

As previously mentioned, I was a Bering’s bride and still feel like one! Your registry remains in the system making it easy for your spouse to go in and pick something to purchase for you for your anniversary, Valentine’s Day, etc. The pieces my husband and I registered for will certainly be around for many generations to come, as they are classics. They pieces are also fun to share when hosting friends and family.

Enough about my/our registry, by this point I was a huge fan of the small town feel of the store, that Houstonians grew up with in what just happens to be the now 3^rd largest city in the nation! For almost 75 years, generations have shopped with Bering’s. It makes sense that it was only a matter time after moving to Houston that I too would be charmed by the coffee aroma filled, tabletop pizzazz, do-it-yourself hardware wonderland!!

Wait, it gets better… You see I get to work here too!

As luck would have it, my husband was hunting with a mutual friend of my now boss and the need for a little help in the marketing arena came up. Thank goodness my husband mentioned that I might be able to help!! (Thanks, Robert!) Fortunately I was able to successfully help my now boss with a small marketing project and enjoyed every minute.

Months had passed, but for some reason I was still intrigued by my experience “unofficially” working for Bering’s.  You see, I wasn’t about to charge my husband’s friend, or even friend of a friend, for what took a couple of hours to help out with. Truthfully, it wasn’t like working – it was fun! Being the great company Bering’s is, I was compensated with a gift card but only after I made it clear I didn’t want to be paid because I was happy to help. …Hello!!! The gift card was pretty awesome and was gone in no time! …It is crazy how Bering’s gift cards burn holes in pockets!

On a whim, I emailed my now boss my cover letter and resume. I wasn’t sure if they needed my help, or if there was even an in-house marketing position. It never hurts to ask though, so that is exactly what I did. Come to think of it, I didn’t even tell my husband until after I emailed my resume. Like so many other things in life, it just made sense.

I was elated to receive a timely reply with an interview tied to it! Elated, overjoyed, you name it – I was happy! After reeling myself back in, I reminded myself that I hadn’t been hired yet and to calm down. Two or three interviews later, I was a proud Bering’s employee!

The insanely cool part is that it is one thing to be a Bering’s customer and to enjoy the friendly staff, but it is pretty fantastic working along-side them. There is a real sense of entrepreneurship among the departments, which is fitting given Bering’s roots in the great town of Houston, TX! Each department is given just the right amount of autonomy to really run with their own program, which turns out to be a good thing for you, the customer. Sure each of us Bering’s employees share the same company mission and core values, but we do it with a sparkle knowing how special of a place the family owned business is, always has been, and will continue to be.

This is my Bering’s story, what’s yours?

–          Julie