TRIPLETT OFFICE ESSENTIALS

Establishing an office space involves more than simply moving in a desk and hanging a sign on the door.  As any successful company is well aware, the environment of an office must foster comfort and efficiency to motivate employees to be creative, collaborative, and productive.  Fortunately, for most companies, a call to Triplett Office Essentials is all it takes to make that happen. Triplett, located at 3553 109th Street in Urbandale, prides itself on providing quality office products with a personal touch-all at affordable prices.  The business, born in 1973 as a printing and supply company, continues to be a family undertaking, with owner Dick, wife Sue, and sons Tom and Tim holding key positions. Some things have remained the same-the Tripletts live, eat, sleep and breathe commitment and customer service. But a few aspects have changed: Dick, the company's president and chief operating officer, no longer makes deliveries in a family station wagon, and the company's inventory has expanded from the barest of office products to a 1,400-page catalog of virtually every supply imaginable. 

"To take what I started as a way to earn a living and continue today to provide a service to the business community is an exciting thing," Dick said.  "In today's world of technology, we're grateful that our small business has the tools and relationship-based staff  to continue to provide quality products at competitive prices with all the service of days gone by."

Dick started the business, originally named Triplett Office Supply and Printing, out of a small space and utilized the services of a Mason City firm to ensure the validity of his earliest sales promise: one-day delivery to clients in an era when seven- to 10-day delivery was the norm.  He truly did employ the services of the family station wagon, making trips to Mason City after Tom, Tim, and sister Kris had been picked up from school to ascertain that the Triplett's company was fulfilling its next-day commitment.

Quickly, the company transitioned from station wagon to delivery trucks and outgrew several locations before building a state-of-the-art office, showroom and warehouse facility in Urbandale.  They've since added a second showroom in Dubuque. 

Over the years, the company has added numerous product lines and services, including office furniture, promotional products, and interior design.  "It's just more of a complete, personal package that we offer that major chains can't," Tim said. Housing so many services under one roof fulfills customers' needs and also controls overhead for the company, which passes along the savings in the form of competitive prices.  Tripletts also maintains a healthy bottom line by hiring and retaining employees (42 in all), with a variety of skills-from printing to sales to marketing and beyond-to negate the need to outsource services. 

"We don't need to mark up products as much as a company that simply sells one product or offers one service," Dick said. "And this company wouldn't be where it is today without the Triplett employees." Tripletts is also able to take advantage of the purchasing power of its buying group.  Independent dealers, like Triplett, banned together to negotiate better pricing and more influence with manufacturers.  This helped to level the playing field with the super stores.  In addition, Triplett is only responsible to its customers and its employees, not to stockholders. Then and now, customer relationships have been the key to Triplett's success.  Sue, who works as the company's Director of Human Resources and treasurer, said many current customers started with the company years ago and continue their loyalty because Triplett continues to increase its commitment to customer care.

"About 15 years ago, a few doctors' offices decided to consolidate their office-supply purchases, and there was a bidding war which we ultimately won," Tom said.  "This clinic concept continued to grow, and the clinics continued to purchase office products. What started as a few doctors grew to be close to 100 physicians. "Because of the levels of service we provided on the supply side of things, when these physicians decided to consolidate under one roof and were looking for local vendors to provide them with state-of-the-art offices and waiting areas, we were selected to be the provider of choice for the new facility.  This clinic is still our customer because we did what we said we would.

"Also, when we started, there was a new law firm in town with only a couple of partners," Tom continued.  "Today, they are one of the major law firms in the Des Moines area, recently taking over another floor of a downtown building, and we took care of that move for them.  They still buy their office products and printing at Triplett." Sue also cited the family component as a key to the company's success, but that involvement didn't occur without some sacrifice, especially during the company's early years. "It has been a real balancing act," Sue said of her roles as wife, mother, and company officer.  "Our lives are our own, but with the business and 10 grandchildren, sometimes it doesn't feel that way.  We are so lucky to have both of our sons in our business, and we're also fortunate to have such a quality, dedicated staff." Shifting back to day-to-day business, Tim said a key component in ensuring customer satisfaction is Triplett's ability to fill nearly 100 percent of supply orders on a next-day basis.  Tim said employees arrive early in the morning to process orders, then follow through on them throughout the day. In addition, employees pay meticulous attention to quality control so merchandise has little chance of incurring errors or damage. And at Triplett, efficient delivery of office supplies doesn't cost a cent.  "At other stores, you have to meet a minimum order requirement for free delivery,"

Tim said. "Triplett has been known to deliver a variety of different-sized orders, and our service goes far beyond the 'sign here' relationship." Tim said Triplett's delivery drivers are often complimented on their customer service, in large part because drivers are instructed not to leave deliveries sitting in a mailroom.  Tim said this is one more example of ways to cultivate lasting client relationships. "Taking care of our customers is far more economical for us than looking for new accounts all of the time.  Our accounts know us and trust us." Dick explained.  However, he added that sons Tom and Tim, who grew up working for the company in various capacities, don't let that stop them from seeking out new clients.

Dick said he also is fortunate to have made the decision early on to invest in a printing press.  Having the presses on-site increases efficiency by allowing items to be created, proofed and printed today, all from one location, then delivered. Printing continues to be one of the components of the Triplett businesses; the company's expanded print shop also includes two-color presses, digital plate makers, high-end copiers, and an array of other equipment to allow the creation of brochures, business cards, envelopes, letterhead, and flyers.  In addition, computerized purchase records are retained so customers can reorder from a saved database. Dick also is enthusiastic about the company's new promotional products division.  "This allows company logos or names to be printed on everything from pens to mugs," Dick said.  "All printed items can be delivered to your business at the same time as all other office supplies."  And if you can't spare the room to house your new supplies immediately, Triplett also offers free storage in their expansive warehouse.

Once your new furniture and supplies are in place, however, it's not time for your relationship with Triplett to end.  The company's five-person in-house design team is equipped with a sample library of flooring, fabrics, and wall coverings, and an array of manufacturer's catalogs offers additional selections.  An auto-CAD system provides a sneak peak by bringing customers' choices to life on-screen. "Having a design staff of that size and quality means that when people are interested in redoing their space or making a new space, we're not going to just sell them a product," Tom said.  "We want to do better than that so the client knows we can hit their budget and still provide quality."  And at the end of the day, Dick attributes his company's success to a very basic principle.  "For a guy who started out selling typewriter ribbons and carbon paper, and now sells nearly every item an office could need, it has been all about keeping up with office trends," Dick said, adding that maintaining the highest customer-service standards remains vital to their success as they compete against large chain stores. "It's still a people business; people doing business with people."

For more information about Triplett Office Essentials, visit www.tripletts.com or call 515-270-9150 in Des Moines and 563-690-0230 in Dubuque.