The success of the store lies in its emphasis on the one thing Wal-Mart, Kmart and other super stores can't offer, said current owners Herman S. Baker II and his wife Eva Baker: hands-on, ...personalized service in an increasingly impersonal world. "There is not another store where the customers get to talk directly to the buyers," Herman Baker said. "People ask us for stuff, they tell us what they want, and we find it. You can't get that at Wal-Mart." It's that type of connection that has allowed the store to outlive such competitors as The Fair, Rich's Department Store, Star Market and Woolworth's, the Bakers said. And that is what will keep them strong as they fend off their latest competition, a Wal-Mart that opened at nearby Plummers Corner last year.
