The store offers an immense product selection. Stanley said her customers are a diverse mix of commercial contractors, homeowners and just about anyone who has a painting, staining or decorating project.

“We serve everyone from do-it-yourself homeowners wanting to paint a room to providing industrial coatings at major manufacturers renovating their floors and things like that,” she said. “Probably 60 percent is contractors and then 40 percent is do-it-yourself.”

Stanley said what sets the store apart from the competition is the diversity and quality of the products it sells as well as the expertise of the staff. She said her team is committed to making certain customers leave the store not only with the right products, but also with a clear understanding of how to proceed with whatever project they have chosen to undertake.

For people needing advice, Stanley said she and her colleagues are more than willing to share their knowledge. She said they assist customers as they evaluate options and plan the project. They make sure patrons understand how to use whatever they purchase at the store.

-Messenger photo by Hans Madsen
Taylor Stanley, manager of the Sherwin-Williams Store demonstrates the analyzyer that can match a customers sample and create a mix to match it. The new store is located at Fifth Avenue South and South 32nd Street in Fort Dodge.

“Some of them need help,” Stanley said. We not only don’t mind helping. We actually enjoy it.”

What counsel is needed varies from customer to customer.

“Some need step-by-step advice,” Stanley said. “Like this color looks good with that color. We give them tips. Anywhere from priming to painting to which roller, which brush. Color help. We help them with anything they need. We want to give them the tips they are going to need so the paint job won’t fail.”

Training

Stanley said Sherwin-Williams makes sure that the people who staff its stores have the knowledge needed to serve customers appropriately.

-Messenger photo by Hans Madsen
Taylor Stanley, manager of the Sherwin-Williams Store shows off their best paint and best brush recently. The new store is located at Fifth Avenue South and South 32nd Street in Fort Dodge.

“When you first start there is a three-month period of videos and book work,” she said. “Every year we go for annual training. The assistant manager and manager spend a week in Cleveland for manager training when they are first hired for those jobs. We all have really good knowledge and training on the job. We have good knowledge about what product to use where, how it’s going to be applied and whether you are going to run into any troubles with previous paints or anything like that.”

Stanley said the company’s commitment to training is of great benefit to its customers.

“We get you the right products, the right tools,” she said.

The goal quite simply is a successful project that upon completion is a source of pride to the customer.

In addition to the in-person advice, the store has available on-site – and Sherwin-Williams offers online – an extensive assortment of written guides to help customers.

“We have painting checklists, information regarding staining, colors,” Stanley said. “We have a lot of different brochures.”

Product selection

Finding just the color paint one desires and the type of paint appropriate for the surface is never a problem at Sherwin-Williams.

“We mix everything here – from really bright pink to lime green to black to whatever a customer needs,” Stanley said, noting that there are quite literally thousands of possibilities.

Additionally, the store keeps a record of the colors selected by each client so that information is available for future reference.

“In our computer system, we save everyone’s paint for 10 years,” Stanley said. “People make use of that all the time.”

For people in search of wallpaper, Sherwin-Williams also has much to offer.

“We do wallpaper,” Stanley said. “That typically takes five to seven business days to get in. We have about 80 books on hand and there is much more on our website.”

The move

Stanley said the store’s new home, which opened for business on Aug. 2, is smaller than the facility it previously occupied on at 2606 First Ave. S.

“We went from 6,600 square feet to 4,000 square feet. So, it is substantially smaller but everything else has remained the same product wise. We are not getting rid of anything.”

Getting the store up and running quickly was a priority.

“Sherwin-Williams sent a crew in from Cleveland and they moved everything for us,” Stanley said. “They put everything together.”

She said it was only necessary to be closed for about two hours to get the computers moved and functioning.

Stanley said she is enthused about the increased visibility afforded her store by being on Fifth Avenue South.

“The location is better,” she said. “We get a lot more traffic, people going by.”

The Sherwin-Williams store in Fort Dodge is open Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., on Saturday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. and on Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

About Sherwin-Williams

Sherwin-Williams, which was founded in 1866, is a huge enterprise. It sells its products worldwide. In the United States, Canada and the Caribbean there are 4,267 Sherwin-Williams stores, according to the company’s 2017 Annual Report. Its sales that year reached a record $14.98 billion. That was the seventh consecutive year of record sales.

Sherwin-Williams has a substantial presence in the Hawkeye State. As of 2017, it had 42 stores in Iowa.

The Fort Dodge store has two full-time and two part-time employees.

“We are hiring,” Stanley said.

She started with the company about five years ago, moved up to assistant manager and became store manager in 2017.

Stanley said she enjoys leading the local store.

“I like the relationships that I get to build with people,” she said. “It’s a fun place to be. You have regulars that you see all the time and build relationships with them.”

Stanley has a straightforward message for potential customers.

“We aim to be helpful,” she said.

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