Local pet store has tails waggin
7/14/2015
Local pet store has tails waggin' | BiS | Business in Savannah News
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Posted: Mon, 07/13/2015 - 10:27pm
Local pet store has tails waggin' TailsSpin distinguished by its community service, support for local brands By: Anna Akins (/authors/anna-akins) 912-652-0367, [email protected]
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7/14/2015
Local pet store has tails waggin' | BiS | Business in Savannah News
Anna Akins/Savannah Morning News- A few of TailsSpin’s staff members at the Whitemarsh Island location’s soft opening.
Personable, innovative and community-focused are just some of the adjectives that local pet store owners Jusak Bernhard and Jeff Manley use to describe their business, TailsSpin.
TailsSpin was recently named the 2015-16 Pet Retailer of the Year by Pet Product News International, a monthly business news magazine that educates members within the professional pet industry.
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7/14/2015
Local pet store has tails waggin' | BiS | Business in Savannah News
“(It’s) quite a huge honor,” Bernhard said. “We’ll do Savannah proud. After all, TailsSpin was born in Savannah.”
Founded in 2007, TailsSpin has distinguished itself for providing Savannahians with a wide variety of local pet brands.
“We love local brands,” Bernhard said. “I think it’s important for all of us to be a part of supporting locals.”
In addition to supporting local brands, TailsSpin offers self-serve dog washes at all of its locations and grooming stations, dog training and vet services at select locations. TailsSpin can be found in Savannah, Pooler, Macon and most recently, on Whitemarsh Island.
Such services, according to Bernhard and Manley, tie into their dedication to the community.
“Opening up our business to local groomers, trainers and vets shows that we’re trying to create harmony within the pet community,” Bernhard said.
In connection with such harmony, Bernhard and Manley host a pet care and adoption fair, a 5K run for pet cancer and low-cost vaccine clinics each year.
Bernhard and Manley say they also make sure their employees value community service.
“We always make sure that we hire employees who volunteer and who give back to the community,” Bernhard said. “We can train them on the rest, but we can’t train them on how to give back.”
In terms of setbacks, both Bernhard and Manley admitted to the difficulty of competing with bigbox pet stores in the area.
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7/14/2015
Local pet store has tails waggin' | BiS | Business in Savannah News
“One of the challenges is you’ve got big-boxes selling much lower quality food for lower prices,” Manley said. “As with any local business, people just assume that we’re going to be more expensive. But we do everything we can to keep our costs comparable.”
Since TailsSpin doesn’t have an online sales portal or delivery service right now, it also struggles to compete against big-boxes in that regard. However, Bernhard and Manley hope to create a delivery service and develop an online presence in the near future.
Despite such challenges, both owners gain encouragement from the relationships they’ve developed with customers.
One customer, Debby Flowers, has supported TailsSpin for the past five years.
“They are always friendly and have never failed to help me find what I’m looking for,” she said.
Theresa Fenger, another customer, appreciates TailsSpin’s dedicated staff.
“This place has such a knowledgeable staff,” she said. “I also love that it’s a locally-owned company with great customer service.”
TailsSpin held a soft opening of its newest store in Whitemarsh Island last Thursday and will host its grand opening in the fall.
“We basically want to feel like our business has a purpose,” Manley said. “We’ve always had a sense of trying to give back and want to leave any given situation better than when we first encountered it.”
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7/14/2015
Local pet store has tails waggin' | BiS | Business in Savannah News
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Local pet store has tails waggin' | BiS | Business in Savannah News
In Case You Missed It
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store-has-tails-waggin)
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Posted: Mon, 07/13/2015 - 10:27pm
Local pet store has tails waggin' TailsSpin distinguished by its community service, support for local brands By: Anna Akins (/authors/anna-akins) 912-652-0367, [email protected]
http://businessinsavannah.com/bis/2015-07-13/local-pet-store-has-tails-waggin
1/5
7/14/2015
Local pet store has tails waggin' | BiS | Business in Savannah News
Anna Akins/Savannah Morning News- A few of TailsSpin’s staff members at the Whitemarsh Island location’s soft opening.
Personable, innovative and community-focused are just some of the adjectives that local pet store owners Jusak Bernhard and Jeff Manley use to describe their business, TailsSpin.
TailsSpin was recently named the 2015-16 Pet Retailer of the Year by Pet Product News International, a monthly business news magazine that educates members within the professional pet industry.
http://businessinsavannah.com/bis/2015-07-13/local-pet-store-has-tails-waggin
2/5
7/14/2015
Local pet store has tails waggin' | BiS | Business in Savannah News
“(It’s) quite a huge honor,” Bernhard said. “We’ll do Savannah proud. After all, TailsSpin was born in Savannah.”
Founded in 2007, TailsSpin has distinguished itself for providing Savannahians with a wide variety of local pet brands.
“We love local brands,” Bernhard said. “I think it’s important for all of us to be a part of supporting locals.”
In addition to supporting local brands, TailsSpin offers self-serve dog washes at all of its locations and grooming stations, dog training and vet services at select locations. TailsSpin can be found in Savannah, Pooler, Macon and most recently, on Whitemarsh Island.
Such services, according to Bernhard and Manley, tie into their dedication to the community.
“Opening up our business to local groomers, trainers and vets shows that we’re trying to create harmony within the pet community,” Bernhard said.
In connection with such harmony, Bernhard and Manley host a pet care and adoption fair, a 5K run for pet cancer and low-cost vaccine clinics each year.
Bernhard and Manley say they also make sure their employees value community service.
“We always make sure that we hire employees who volunteer and who give back to the community,” Bernhard said. “We can train them on the rest, but we can’t train them on how to give back.”
In terms of setbacks, both Bernhard and Manley admitted to the difficulty of competing with bigbox pet stores in the area.
http://businessinsavannah.com/bis/2015-07-13/local-pet-store-has-tails-waggin
3/5
7/14/2015
Local pet store has tails waggin' | BiS | Business in Savannah News
“One of the challenges is you’ve got big-boxes selling much lower quality food for lower prices,” Manley said. “As with any local business, people just assume that we’re going to be more expensive. But we do everything we can to keep our costs comparable.”
Since TailsSpin doesn’t have an online sales portal or delivery service right now, it also struggles to compete against big-boxes in that regard. However, Bernhard and Manley hope to create a delivery service and develop an online presence in the near future.
Despite such challenges, both owners gain encouragement from the relationships they’ve developed with customers.
One customer, Debby Flowers, has supported TailsSpin for the past five years.
“They are always friendly and have never failed to help me find what I’m looking for,” she said.
Theresa Fenger, another customer, appreciates TailsSpin’s dedicated staff.
“This place has such a knowledgeable staff,” she said. “I also love that it’s a locally-owned company with great customer service.”
TailsSpin held a soft opening of its newest store in Whitemarsh Island last Thursday and will host its grand opening in the fall.
“We basically want to feel like our business has a purpose,” Manley said. “We’ve always had a sense of trying to give back and want to leave any given situation better than when we first encountered it.”
BusinessInSavannah.com, ©2015. All Rights Reserved. (/)
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7/14/2015
Local pet store has tails waggin' | BiS | Business in Savannah News
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