Schaefer’s Market
Company Profile
There’s something sizzling at Schaefer’s Market—and it’s not just grill masters who can see what it is. Schaefer’s has carved out a unique niche in Sauk Centre, not only as a full-service meat market, wholesaler and custom butcher, but with groceries, produce and food preparation for events. Smoked meats and sausage are made on-site, and in-house butchers cut fresh meat trimmed to customer preferences. No matter how you slice it, owners Chris and Lisa Lawinger—who bought the business from Mark Schaefer in 2012—keep their loyal customers coming back with a focus on quality products and strong local service.
“We have great staff—all very knowledgeable in the things that we do,” Chris says. “They work great together and are always looking for ways to make things better.”
Challenge
The Lawingers are deeply invested in their business and customers. Chris serves as general manager and butcher, while Lisa manages operations from accounting and payroll to day-to-day management of the store and about 23 full- and part-time employees.
As a meat market, custom butcher, wholesaler, grocer and event cook, Schaefer’s Market is a busy place. That means the phones are ringing. Whether staff are taking customer orders, working with local farmers and suppliers for shipments and deliveries, booking events or just communicating between departments as a team, the phone system is a crucial part of keeping operations on track.
Opportunity
After many years of use, Schaefer’s old phone system was beginning to show its age. It just wasn’t keeping up with current demands. When the time came to make a change, the Lawingers got in touch with Arvig and found Hosted PBX.
“Arvig has been a part of our community for a very long time,” Chris says. “We have been customers since we bought the store. Our phone system needed updates and they were an obvious choice. They are always helpful when we need solutions to grow and update our systems.”
Solution
Hosted PBX has made an immediate impact on the business—it’s simplified almost everything as far as communication is concerned.
“We have lots of calls,” Chris says. “And with all the different things we do, this new system helps our departments work together easily and communicate easily.”
With Hosted PBX, Schaefer’s now has the ability to manage its phone system from a web portal, including forwarding calls from a computer to their phones. Chris says it’s a benefit to be able to easily transfer phone messages to staff and play recorded messages to customers while they are on hold.
The Schaefer’s Market-Arvig relationship has been “Really great,” Chris says. “They have a really knowledgeable staff. Very flexible and helpful—lots of different resources and always friendly.”
