We can’t do what Amazon does.
Posted by ROLF WILLIAMS
And Amazon can’t do what we do. We’re Jerrol’s, a beautifully strange, family-owned business powered by twenty human beings that’s been right in the middle of Ellensburg, Washington since 1947. Some of the items we carry are also available other places and websites. If you’re shopping for the lowest price on something that both Amazon and Jerrol’s offer, we’re probably not going to be able to price match the giant retailers of the world. We can’t out-Amazon Amazon... but we can be ourselves. So what does that look like?
1). FREE smiles, for everyone - even virtual ones!
2). We’re happy people who aren’t treated poorly
3). We care about the success of Jerrol’s
4). Our business philosophy is based on “How Can We Help You?”
5). Our recommendations are based on experience instead of algorithms
6). Our customer service attitude is based on YOU: The Customer is the Boss
7). We offer same-day deliveries
8). Humans answer the phones
9). We all live right here in Ellensburg
10). We actually use the products we sell and can tell you all about them
11). Dollars spent at Jerrol’s stay local
12). We give back to local schools, nonprofits, and community events
13). We know your name (and your kid’s name, and probably your dog’s name too)
14). You can actually see, touch, and try before you buy
15). Gift wrapping? Done. Special orders? You bet.
16). You can talk to the same person twice - or ten times
17). We remember your stories
How did we get here?
Our founders, Don & Irene Williams created Jerrol’s in their front yard, on the same piece of dirt we are on today. Irene was the first of her family to be born in the United States at a time when being an immigrant from Norway was not welcome. In fact, her sons were not allowed to speak Norwegian. Don & Irene had a son with Multiple Sclerosis and were referred to as “those immigrants with the spastic son.” They were told to put him into an institution - they refused. That son, Rolf Ryan Williams, received a doctorate degree from Chapel Hill North Carolina. Their other son, Jerry, had an experience in March of 1942 he never forgot: he watched his Japanese friends walk down a pier in Gig Harbor, get on a barge, and he never saw them again. The third generation of Jerrol’s has an adult son with profound classic autism and epilepsy.
Our collective experience has forged the foundation that Jerrol’s rests on.
We may not have massive warehouses stuffed with millions of items and the lowest prices on everything you can buy online, but we have our history, a reason to keep helping others, and a reason to believe in offering a welcoming environment for everyone who walks through our doors. We’re not Amazon - we’re Jerrol’s and we’re good at what we do.
