Furniture Man, Tom Hendrix, of Henco Furniture Pens Autobiography

Furniture World News Desk on 1/30/2015

Tom Hendrix, a nationally known entrepreneur and longtime West Tennessee businessman, tells  in his recently released autobiography, “It’s Worth the Drive: The Journey of My Life,” how he and his wife, Sherry, made Henco Furniture,  the furniture store he founded at the age of 65,  a huge success. 

They opened Henco Furniture, without retail furniture experience, with the goal of creating a unique shopping experience.  After visiting about 10 of the more successful mega furniture stores, including American Furniture in Denver, Gallery Furniture Store in Houston and Jordan’s Furniture in Boston, Henco’s Hometown USA showroom was opened to shoppers from six states in 2005. Top brand furniture was arranged in shopping trips off Main Street with its park and waterfall. Just past a train trestle, Henco’s Whistle Stop Café and Soda Fountain welcomed guests to have lunch or take a relaxing break and enjoy a milkshake.

The store, located in a small  West Tennessee town of 4,500 people, was soon generating more than one million dollars a month in sales as people flocked to the massive store from six states to shop in a unique setting and to enjoy its unique emphasis on customer service.

Hendrix is known as Mr. Henco or the man on television who assured the Mid-South that “it’s worth the drive” to travel to Henco Furniture in the Selmer, Tenn., Industrial Park. His journey as an entrepreneur, though, began long before he and Sherry opened Henco Furniture in 1996. By then, he had already created two successful companies that became national in scope and employed thousands of people. He dabbled in a dozen other ventures, from raising emus and hogs on his farm to creating the largest peach orchard in Tennessee.

His life journey began as a young boy on the family farm in McNairy County, Tenn., where he worked hard to help his father and mother care for a large family. He entered college without a high school diploma and honed his sales skills by selling Bibles door to door to pay for college. Selling Bibles during the summer months changed his focus from being an agriculture teacher to being an entrepreneur.

“Most people take the easy route, but we didn’t,” Hendrix said. “It took Sherry and me eight years to begin to realize our dream, living in basement apartments, sacrificing, doing without, and many times being unable to pay our bills on time. I wanted my book to have a special message to those who were having tough times, struggling to find their way. I wanted my book to say: “Hang in there; the sun will shine one day; you will look back and be proud of your life and the contribution you’ve made.”






“We were determined to raise our service to a level that turned our customers into raving fans,” Hendrix said. “Even our custodians were reminded about our commitment. I would tell them to look for ways to render an unexpected service. If the customer had a flat tire, help change the tire. If little Johnny is restless, suggest an ice cream cone from the soda fountain. If a customer has a wait time, suggest a complimentary lunch or dessert at Henco’s Whistle Stop Café. Let them know we care about them.”

It was customary, Hendrix said, for him to visit with the young men getting furniture on the truck for delivery. He would tell them to have a chat with the customer, to thank the customer for driving to Selmer to furnish his or her home, to tell the customer that they would pull the customer’s order correctly and then inspect the furniture once it was delivered.

“I explained to the employee that he was no longer just working, that he was rendering a special service to the customer. As I walked through the warehouse, interacting with our employees, I would remind them that our company’s mission was to do something special for our customers they don’t expect, sending them back to their community as a raving fan to share the Henco service story with their family and friends.”

Hendrix explained that his salespeople were asked to read, “How to Sell to Your Grandmother” and to give everyone the grandmother treatment — a service beyond their expectation. “Every job description was written so our employees could visualize how they were a part of creating raving fans. I wanted our employees to visualize our fans as our salesforce, sending us business. If furniture was mentioned, our raving fans could say, ‘Go to Henco, it’s worth the drive.’ Furthermore, we wanted our customers to exclaim, when they walked inside the showroom for the first time, ‘Wow, what a place!’ We wanted their shopping experience to be so much fun that even the children would cry when they had to leave — a shopping experience they would remember as being special, an experience they would share with their family and friends. This was Henco’s service philosophy.”

Hendrix and his wife started Henco Furniture without having any retail furniture experience. They started small, he said, and decided they would learn how to sell furniture as they interacted with their customers.

“We also were determined,” he said, “to be profitable from the very beginning and to keep our expenses in line with our sales. We ordered small, inexpensive spreader knives and imprinted on the handle, ‘Henco, spread the word.’ When we made a sale, we thanked our customers for their business, gave them a spreader knife, and asked: ‘Mrs. Jones, I want you to be my official word spreader to your family and friends, helping Sherry and me build our business. Will you be a special word spreader for us?’ I made this presentation in a light-hearted and fun way that brought forth laughter. Later, when they returned to the store, many would tell me, ‘we have been spreading the word, sending you business.’ I would express my gratitude and share with them how they were building our business. Our official word spreaders felt a special kinship to our store. This idea was inexpensive, it gave us a way to connect with our customers and it made them feel a part of building our business. It worked like magic!”

“Henco Furniture was known in six states as the ‘worth the drive’ store,” Hendrix said. “Our customers remembered ‘worth the drive’ more than the name Henco Furniture. The statement stuck in their mind and people had fun with the statement. Sherry and I might be in Memphis, 100 miles away, and if we walked into a restaurant, many times someone would speak up and say, ‘it’s worth the drive,’ and generate laughter from the crowd. I would wave and say, ‘You’re right – Henco is worth the drive!’”

“Of all the businesses we created, Henco Furniture was the most fun; we called it our retirement project.”

Throughout his life, Hendrix said he remained firm in his belief of servant leadership, of building businesses that rendered services to his fellowman and that allowed employees to develop their full potential.

“The central objective of my life is to grow toward God through service to my fellowman,” Hendrix said. “I don’t think you are living unless you’re making a contribution. My autobiography is another way for me to make a contribution.”

Hendrix closed the store in 2013 to allow him more time to spend with family and to write his book. “I wrote my autobiography with the hope that people will benefit from reading it. I share my faith, my moral compass; my philosophy on the importance of free enterprise and being an entrepreneur; and how to build a business from scratch on borrowed money. It’s been quite a journey…and certainly worth the drive.”

To order the book, read excerpts or find upcoming speaking appearances and book signings with Hendrix, visit www.mrhenco.com. Hardback copies of the book are available for $23.95 on the website.