Political Hobnobbing
Well, I couldn’t let Michael get away with meeting all the interesting people while in Washington, so Jon and I stayed with Arkansas State Senator Kim Hendren. Senator Kim had just returned from a ninety day session in Little Rock. We talked late into the night about Arkansas politics as well as his many business ventures. His brother-in-law is Asa Hutchinson, who’s a BJ grad.
The church is located in Gravette, AR, which is in the far northwest corner of the state. Wal-Mart’s home office, which employs 18,000 people is only a few miles away in Bentonville, AR. Senator Kim’s brother, a judge, was one of Sam Walton’s best friends. They played tennis together almost everyday for years. Senator Kim told us a funny anecdote about a customer service experience he had. Several weeks after Christmas he was running some errands with his wife. He dropped her off at their Wal-Mart, so she could return some clothes that had been Christmas gifts. When he returned, his wife was outside crying, so he asked her what was the matter. She said they wouldn’t take the items, and they accused her of trying to return them after she had worn them. He took them in and tried to explain the situation, but the Customer Service Associate wouldn’t take them. He left, and drove across town to the Wal-Mart headquarters. He told the receptionist that he wanted to talk to Sam, but the receptionist said he was out of town. He said, “Then let me talk to Rob.” (Sam’s son) The receptionist said, “I’m sorry, but he’s out as well.” He said, “Fine, then let me talk to the biggest shot you’ve got.” He went in to a vice-president’s office and put the clothes down. He explained what had happened and really took him up one side and down the other. He took the clothes, and went home. In about fifteen minutes, the manager of the Wal-Mart they had been to showed up on his doorstep with a potted plant to apologize to his wife, and money to refund the clothes. A couple days later Sam called and apologized in person.