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Another Family Owned Business that Loves Batavia

By Timothy Paine

 



            Max Pies


Max Pies was established in 1905 by Max himself. The business was passed to Sam and Jake and turned over to Phil Pie in 1970. The future looks strong with Phil's son Steven on board to be the fourth generation to take over. Any business that can boast over a century as a local institution must be doing something right. As far as I know, they are the second oldest family owned retail business in Genesee County.


                                                                                                                                     


                                                                                                                            

                   Max  Pies is a name that rings familiar to anyone that has ever lived in our area. In fact the first thing my wife and I did when we bought our house was to have our entire upstairs carpeted by them before we moved in. I was out of town when they did the job and was completely thrilled and amazed by the quality of the job they did. I can be very critical and could not find a fault anywhere. Every seam, edge and break appeared flawless. My wife told me how courteous and professional they were during job and how much pride they took in every aspect from removal to final clean up. I can say that I am a very satisfied customer. Before I continue, I need to apologize for the delay on submitting stories. I ran into a few set backs but I promise to keep this series going. 


                                                                                                                                                I stopped in and spoke with both Phil and Steven.  It was a pleasure to share feelings about Batavia and its people.  They both have tremendous affection for our city and all the folks they have served through out the years.  In fact it seemed my interview wasn’t one at all.   We spent only a few minutes talking about the business and the rest was about our community.  We talked about local issues, the stadium, the Mall, schools and annual events.  Steven and I spoke about where we’ve traveled and how we both always looked to Batavia as the place we wanted to be and raise our kids.  He told me how he got married and moved away but couldn’t stay away from our inviting community.  He moved back for the same reasons I wanted to be here, our kids.  We talked about how wonderful it is that our children can run around and play.  How similarly we liked the fact that in our neighborhoods all the parents kind of keep track of  each others kids in their roaming groups going to each others houses and playing.  We look out for each other and keep in contact with ten second phone calls, “Hi Dad, I’m at Jenny’s! click”  but you knew they were safe.  We agreed that even in a modern society the old town feel still remains evident here.  We laughed and joked through our family tales, because after all, any one with kids can relate to or even re-live every kid inspired story told.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  I eventually got back to asking about the business and what it takes to keep a family run enterprise successful for so long.  The answer was similar to every long standing business owner I’ve interviewed.  “Give the customers good service at a fair price and they’ll be loyal”.  “Good service means taking care of them during and after the sale”.  “No matter how busy we are, how big or small the job, every one deserves to be treated as the most important task in front of you at the time”.  “When people are shown respect and given what they asked for you haven’t  just made a sale, you’ve established a relationship that hopefully lasts a life time”.  I couldn’t agree more!  I myself want more than someone to just show me a product and take a check.  We all want someone who knows more than their product.  We want them to know their business.  Let their experience help us decide what would best fit us.  That only comes from many years of dealing with people in all different situations and all walks of life.  That’s what I found with Phil and Steven, it is more than another sale to them.  It’s building that relationship.  Stop in and see Phil or Steven at 400 South Jackson St. or give them a call at 585-343-6280.    


                  


 

 

 

  


                  




 

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