When people of South Florida think about formal boys clothing, they think Heritage House. Originally located in Suniland, they moved nine years ago to a bright storefront at 12105 S. Dixie Hwy. All told, Heritage House has been pampering its customers and winning life-long fans for more than 45 years. Heritage House is truly a staple of the Pinecrest community and what makes living here so special.
Owner Howard Tendrich, along with his brother Jack and store manager Charlie Merrill, have been providing great customer service longer than many of us have been alive. Five others — Jon Tendrich, Michelle Diaz, Michael Rodriguez, Alan Iturrizaga and Wesley Franz — are part of the current team and are always eager to assist.
The store is beautiful and the quality of their merchandise is only exceeded by their customer service. And they definitely know their stuff! When a young boy walked in during my interview, they sized him up from 40 feet away and told me his measurements. Testing proved they were spot on. When they say ‘Can I help you?’ they mean it and if they don’t have it in the store, they’ll hunt it down.
“We have our seasons,” says Merrill. “Communion sales run late March through May. We have plenty of white suits for that. The bar mitzvah season is primarily during the school year, but we’re always ready to go.”
Of course, there are weddings, proms and other events that keep the store busy throughout the year.
“I’ve been coming here about eight years, since Justin could wear clothes like this,” said repeat customer Madeleyn Bloodworth. “This is the easiest place to find formal clothes and the personalized service is incredible. I only wish there was a store like this for my daughters.”
She was in the store with her son, Justin, to get clothes at the last minute for a school event.
“I like that they have lots of choices and the clothing is great,” said Justin, a Westminster Christian fifth grader.
What we have in South Florida is now going global. Actually, the Internet has been part of the Heritage House formula for about 15 years. But recently, the numbers are really skyrocketing. Thirty percent of all sales are now generated through their website at <www.boyssuits.com>. Howard Tendrich laments the fact that the site is so sophisticated now.
“People used to start on the web and then would need to call us to complete an order where we could get to know them,” he said.
“With this new generation of website, the call is unnecessary.” Despite that, Heritage House still finds ways to personalize service for every customer.
“We got an order from Abu Dhabi this morning,” boasts Merrill, the 37-year veteran manager. “It’s fun to ship our products all over the world!”
Merrill was shy when asked about well-known patrons.
“Famous people? We’ve had our share,” he said. “There is a boy’s photo over there, he won Star Search. But, really, everyone is important to us.”
That’s true. The staff of Heritage House has been known to make house calls, wedding calls and more in an emergency. When asked about other high-end customer stories, Howard Tendrich told me that he had fun helping the Walton family (of WalMart fame).
“They found us online and needed clothing for a family wedding,” he said. “They needed 10 suits, but ended up getting 12 to make sure everything fit just right. Really, all of our customers are famous. Just look at the thousands of faces we have up in our store.”
“Whether they spend a penny or a thousand dollars, you treat them the same and thank them,” Jack Tendrich added.
If you need new threads for the holidays, call Heritage House at 305-232-1776 or 888-784-8269; or go to <www.boyssuits.com>.
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Hal Feldman (MiamiHal) is a Realtor with RE/MAX Advance Realty. Contact him with story ideas or real estate questions at <www.MiamiHal.com>, <Hal@MiamiHal.com> or <www.facebook.com/MiamiHal>.
