Chinaberry’s winning combination: soft on the outside, savvy on the inside

By Reported Donna Loyle

Customer service reps (CSRs) are specially chosen for their personal warmth, says Ed Ruethling. “We have one CSR whose main job is to hand-write letters and notes in response to customers’ written inquiries.”

So important is the positive feedback from customers that it’s the reason Ruethling dropped his old career to join his wife in the company. “No sooner had we moved from Oregon to San Diego in 1984 than Ann was called to her mother’s bedside in St. Louis. So I started picking up the mail for her catalog company and reading it. I saw all of the hand-written letters from customers thanking Ann for her work. They said how much they loved the book selections. After that, of course, I saw the business’s potential.”