Working to provide the best services and prices for his customers is very important to owner of DJ’s Paper Place, Stephen Dykes.
“My Philosophy is I want to buy locally but there are two sides to that. I have to make it possible for people to buy at my store. That means keeping my prices in line with prices they can find in other places,” he said.
This is a challenge for Dykes but he explained he does everything he can to keep prices the same as you might find at a larger store, but likes it when his customers share their knowledge.
“This is where we need our customer’s help. I want people to come in store and tell me they want to buy locally but at the moment your prices are too high and I can get it somewhere else for a different price,” he said. That way he knows what other stores are offering, and he can stay competitive.
“The reality is 90 per cent of the time I can match that price.”
Dykes bought the business in 2005 and said that most of the prices in the store have remained the same or dropped over the past seven years.
A trained physiotherapist, Dykes originally bought DJ’s when he was looking for a somewhere in the downtown area to run a clinic.
“I bought DJ’s really with the idea of the building but a very viable business came with it. Now I spend more of my time in the store than I do in the clinic,” Dykes said.
The clinic, which runs out of the back part of the building, does have two physiotherapists who work for Dykes.
Over the years Dykes explained he enjoys the the difference that both jobs offer him.
“Hindsight has made me see it as beneficial to my well being. It wasn’t my intention, working five days a week at physiotherapists and seeing up to five patients a day. By the time Thursday comes around I am a basket case,” he said with a smile. “This provides a switch for my focus.”
He is also grateful for the support he has received over the years.
“We have some very loyal customers. I would like more loyal customers. Part of it is getting the word out on what we do,” he said.
He explained that the business can do printing for their customers. “We can print business cheques for companies. We have a digital printer. We can do business cards, folded brochures and just about anything else our customers want,” he said.
Dykes added that groups like Kicking Horse Culture use the company to print their posters which can be seen in many store windows in Golden and brochures as well.
“If it is to do with office supplies and printing then we can basically do it,” he said.
He also said he tries to offer as many services as he can to the people in the area.
“I want people to come in to help me keep my prices competitive. If they tell me they can get something at another place for a lower price I will look it up and if I can bring my price in line I will do so,” he said.
The store also offers non-profit groups a 15 per cent discount.
To learn more about the many services that are offed at DJ’s Paper Place, drop by the store at 523 9th Ave. N.
