Pity the Fool Who Hasn’t Discovered Mr. T’s Furniture
August 20, 2007
By Nicholas A. Poggioli
Justin McGary runs a business just three years his junior. McGary, 28, took over Mr. T’s New & Used Furniture just one year ago from his ailing step-father, who has since passed. His step-father opened Mr. T’s 25 years ago selling music and incense. The business slowly changed over the years, and now McGary sells used and new furniture and appliances from the deep, narrow store with low ceilings at 2356 St. Claude Avenue.
The storefront is easy to miss for someone driving down St. Claude. Above the large barred window and door, weathered plywood, painted red and yellow, reads “Mr. T’s New & Used Furniture.” McGary says he wants to fix up the storefront to attract more customers. Just getting new people in the door is a problem.
However, those who take the time to seek out McGary’s business are rewarded by a man who sees customer service as anything but a burden.
“I don’t call them customers; I call them clients,” he says, smiling. “You’re a client after the first time.” His easygoing, friendly persuasion had this reporter feeling like one within ten minutes of talking with him.
With Mr. T’s sitting between two competing furniture stores along St. Claude, McGary sees loyalty to his clients as his strongest selling point, next to the lowest prices in the city, of course. “I tell people, ‘Bring me the price of what you want at any store in the city, and I’ll beat it,’ and I know I can do it.” He has established a loyal client base and will do whatever it takes to hold on to it. “I had one person call me after they bought a washer. It had broken down, so I went out and fixed it and donated a couch to them, too.” McGary believes that kind of service is critical to a successful small business.
However, life is certainly not just about money for McGary. He also sees the critical link between community and business. “The better the community, the better the business ,” he says, leaning back at his desk tucked in between a fully-assembled four-post bed frame and a 100-year old china closet in his store. “I love to be part of something that’s positive and moving forward.”
That something is his commitment to helping the community around him and those in it.
If someone needs a little help, McGary might hire them to do some temporary work for Mr. T’s, continuing a tradition begun by his step-father. He’s not in the business of handouts, though. “If you want anything, you’ve got to work for it.” This philosophy is rooted in an eventual gain for the business and the community. “As soon as people get on their feet, they’ll come back.” This could be a guiding principle for the entire city, now. He continues, “You weaken people when you give, give, give, give: I’m going to teach you something.” And he’s got plenty to teach.
McGary places a high premium on self-sufficiency, in himself and others. While his passion is carpentry, he also repairs and refurbishes appliances—stoves, refrigerators, and air conditioners, among others—to sell in the store. He restores furniture, and does most of his own repair work on the building. He’ll teach people he hires how to do these things if it will help them get back on their feet, if it will go one step toward giving them a marketable skill.
McGary feels the biggest obstacle he has to growing the business is the building itself. “People don’t realize I’ve got so much nice stuff in here,” he says. An entire section of wall is covered by appliances for sale. Across from them are tables, beds, buffets, cabinets, and boxes of unassembled bedroom sets. Nothing but a narrow path winds through the inventory. It must be a truly complex operation to extract a large item from the back of the store.
Sometimes, McGary talks with clients or people on the street outside without letting them know he’s the owner. This gives him a special insight into what people think of the place. He says that often he hears them say they don’t even know what’s in the store, or that they think the place only sells appliances and not furniture.
To counteract these misconceptions, McGary wants to fix up the storefront with a fresh coat of paint, perhaps even a retractable awning to provide shade and encourage window shoppers to linger. Outside, McGary looks up at the facade. “I’d like to put some curtains up on the building next door here where I keep my storage so people wouldn’t always be looking in there.”
Floor restoration is another investment McGary would like to make. Much of his inventory sits up on two-by-fours that run the length of the concrete floor. “We get water in here when it rains, all the time,” he says. “I’ve got to get this floor repainted, but I’ve had to wait since we had so much rain for a while there.” He shows me the back of the store where the green paint on the floor is peeling off in large pieces. “I usually put some varnish on there, too, just to make it more durable.”
This self-sufficiency comes at a price, though, especially when talking about ways the city government could be a resource for Mr. T’s.
McGary, like so many business owners eligible to receive technical assistance from various agencies offering it, is reluctant to do so. Although he would welcome assistance to make infrastructure improvements, he worries about getting bogged down with paperwork, bureaucracy and stipulations when he sees what needs to be done and knows he has the skills to make the improvements himself.
Whether or not McGary ever applies for or receives any small businesses development money from the city or state, he’ll continue seeing his furniture store on St. Claude as something much more than a place to earn money.
He believes community and business are one and the same, that, as he said, “The better a community is, the better a business is.” In McGary’s case, his motto also works in reverse: the better a business is, the better a community is. McGary’s business practices, personality, and work ethic at Mr. T’s New & Used Furniture all contribute to a better New Orleans.
Mr. T’s Used Furniture and Appliances
2356 St. Claude
Phone: (504) 944-0238
Monday through Saturday, 10 am - 6 pm