An independent butcher based near High Wycombe has revealed why he thinks his business has ‘stood out from the crowd’ in the 39 years they’ve been open.
Joe Gleeson, who runs and owns J.P. Gleeson in Penn, first opened its doors to the residents of South Buckinghamshire in 1985 where he has very much become part of the furniture in a very leafy area of the Chilterns.
The entrepreneur revealed that a large part of his success is down to ‘evolving with the times’ whilst also sticking to ‘traditional values’.
He said: “I always harboured the ambition to have a shop of my own within a community so that we could develop relationships.
“In my opinion, we’ve stood out from the crowd because of our service.
“We are always polite to our customers.
“We give everyone the fullest respect, irrespective of their knowledge of what they’re asking for or their spending power.
“Just because an individual may have more or less spending power than the person next to them, that does not mean they should be treated differently.”
Based along the Hazlemere Road within the village, J.P Gleeson has managed to become a ‘go-to’ place for those in the area and within High Wycombe.
But their popularity goes beyond the Thames Valley.
It’s been revealed that one of Mr Gleeson’s customers treks from Derby down to Penn every so often to pick up several goods.
The customer in question used to live in Buckinghamshire.
Speaking on this loyal client, he said: “I find that humbling but also quite sad as they can’t find a good local butcher, or maybe, they’ve tried a few but have given up.
“Rather than that, we try and treat everyone with respect and courtesy and we will help the customer with what they want to purchase.
“A few weeks ago, we had several customers come in after they had watched an episode of Saturday Kitchen Live with James Martin, and they wall wanted this specific product.
“They also wanted it how it was prepped on the show.
“They all managed to get it, and it’s funny because James Martin had recommended the viewers to ‘use their local butcher’ rather than a supermarket for this product.
“You wouldn’t get that extra touch in a supermarket – that’s something butchers all over the land should be able to do for a customer, free of charge.
“There is also a very old saying which goes, ‘Use it or lose it.’
“I can’t tell people where to shop but all I can do is encourage them as we value our service a lot.”
He added: "You need to evolve as a business because if you don’t then you become extinct as a business.
"With that being said, we’re very traditional as we’ll not do a great amount of ready made products – we prefer our customers to be able to cook , and we will advise that for them."
To find out more, call 01494 813392.
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